ORANGE LEAGUE BOYS’ BASKETBALL : Savanna’s Rally Stops Western

It wasn’t pretty, but the Savanna boys’ basketball team will take Friday night’s 50-46 victory over host Western in an Orange League opener.

Savanna (7-7, 1-0 in league) trailed for most of the game before taking the lead with a little over four minutes left, when Dan Avila converted a three-point play with a free throw, giving the Rebels a 42-41 lead.

“Western makes you look bad,” Savanna Coach C.D. Snider said. “They run their offense so well, that if it wasn’t for Dan Avila, I don’t know what would have happened.”

Avila scored seven points in the fourth quarter, and finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Western (8-6, 0-1), which beat Savanna last Thursday, 57-46, took a 26-22 lead at halftime, and increased the lead to 35-25 with a 9-3 run to open the third quarter.

However, the Rebels countered with a 10-2 run, cutting Western’s lead to 37-35 entering the fourth quarter.

“We wanted to run the ball and they didn’t,” Snider said. “They were able to get some runs and so were we, but they just played their offense so well.”

Western held the ball for nearly two minutes to open the fourth quarter before Paul Lindemeyer hit a jump shot. Lindemeyer finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.

The difference down the stretch, though, was Savanna’s free-throw shooting, as the Rebels converted on all seven attempts.

“We are very proud of that,” Snider said. “That is where you win big games and championships.”

Todd Wilson led Savanna in scoring with 14 points; the Pioneers were led by Neil Hensley’s game-high 18 points, along with Brandon Brennan’s 11.

“This is a huge victory for us,” Snider said. “It gives us a great start to the league season, and we’re usually not comfortable playing here.”

In other league games:

Magnolia 67, Anaheim 55--Brandon Harvey scored 24 points and Frank Henderson 21 for Magnolia (1-0 in league) in its league opener.

Valencia 53, Brea-Olinda 48--Valencia (7-8, 1-0) won its league opener behind Erik Jackley’s 12-point effort.