DIVISION II-A : Magnolia’s Henderson Leads Way

Magnolia High guard Frank Henderson was upset about sitting on the bench the last time the Sentinels played Katella, a 35-point loss in December.

Injured toe. Couldn’t play. Had to sit.

But not this time. The toe was fine. So was Henderson.

With leading-scorer Aaron Williams on the bench with five fouls, Henderson took over in the final minute as Magnolia defeated Katella, 70-69, in a Division II-A first-round game Friday night at Magnolia.

The Sentinels (17-7) advance to the second round for the first time since 1987 and will face Hacienda Heights Wilson on Tuesday. The Sentinels have never advanced past the playoff quarterfinals in Al Walin’s 19 years as coach.

Magnolia rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit, including a six-point margin in the final two minutes 25 seconds. The Sentinels also avenged an embarrassing 78-43 loss at Katella on Dec. 18 and extended its home winning streak to nine games.

“I was hurt back then,” said Henderson, who scored six of his team-high 22 points in the fourth quarter. “I was 100% this time.”

In the final minute, he was 110%.

Henderson hit a layup that gave Magnolia a 68-67 lead with 59 seconds left, but Brian Carlson, who finished with 21 points, tipped in a miss by Benny Garcia with 30 seconds left. Katella led, 69-68.

Then Magnolia’s Donald Jones, a substitute who played sparingly, made his only shot of the game, muscling inside for a layup with 16 seconds left to give the Sentinels the lead for good.

Katella had the ball, but never got off a shot. Henderson stole it near the left sideline before the Knights even got close to half court.

He missed a layup, but Magnolia got the ball out-of-bounds after a wild scramble for the ball. Three seconds were left on the clock.

Guess who the Sentinels inbounded the ball to? Henderson. He dribbled as the clock ran out and was mobbed by the fans after the game.

“Did Henderson take over this game or what,” Walin said. “What were we? Ten points down? We did a hell of a job adjusting defensively.

“We put Thay Sisomvang up there on the point and told him, ‘Go at them (Katella), they can’t handle it.’ ”

Williams, who fouled out with 3:35 left, scored 14 points, and Brandon Hearvey and Sisomvang added 13 apiece. Sisomvang hit two big layups and a three-pointer in the second half.

And Magnolia’s LaShaun Neal, starting in place of academically ineligible forward Demetrius Maltie, added six points. His biggest shot was a three-pointer with 1:48 left that cut his team’s deficit to 67-61.

Afterward, the coach celebrated right along with the fans and players. The victory was especially sweet for Walin, who is winning a bout with colon cancer after undergoing surgery 2 1/2 years ago.

Amid the handshakes and high-fives, a Magnolia student handed Walin a copy of a newspaper article on him and asked for an autograph.

Walin signed.

“In 19 years of coaching . . . this is big,” Walin said. “This has been a big week. I’m a little stunned right now.”