EMPIRE LEAGUE : Esperanza Grabs Its Chance in 49-46 Victory Over Katella
Mike Thimgan saw it all slipping away. The game and a chance at a third-consecutive Empire League championship were slipping from Esperanza’s grasp.
The Aztecs finally tightened their grip, pulling out a 49-46 victory over Katella on Friday at Esperanza. They did so by putting together one good quarter and that was barely enough.
Josh Greer sank two free throws with 12 seconds left to give the Aztecs a 46-45 lead and Carl Latting hit two more with two seconds left. Then came the sigh of relief.
“If we had lost this one, that was it,” said Thimgan, a senior guard. “We wouldn’t win the league and if that happened . . .”
Well, Thimgan doesn’t know what that would mean. After all, he has played only on league championship teams at Esperanza.
But the Aztecs (12-6, 2-1) were on the verge of early elimination. They lost to Cypress Wednesday night, stopping their 18-game league winning streak, and were close to falling two games behind Los Alamitos.
The Knights (10-6, 1-2) led by as many as 15 points, and twice had 11-point leads in the third quarter. A layup by LaByron Clayton gave the Knights a 46-40 lead with 1:56 left. It all fell apart quickly.
Sophomore guard Carlos Romero twice missed the front end of one-and-one free throws.
The Knights’ defense, which had been stingy-bordering-on-brutal, suddenly unwound. Greer scored on a layup and Thimgan hit a three-pointer and the lead was one.
After Romero’s second miss, Greer took the pass at the top of the key and worked his way in for a shot, but was fouled. His free throws gave the Aztecs their first lead of the game.
Nick Roditis, who led Katella with 22 points, then missed a 15-footer with six seconds left.
“That’s the first time we’ve shown that type of character,” Esperanza Coach Mark Hill said. “We haven’t been the team getting the loose balls or making the clutch free throws until tonight.”
Well, part of the evening the Aztecs did those things. The rest of the night belonged to Katella.
The Knights scored the first seven points and led, 30-22, at halftime. Roditis had 17 points in the first half, making seven of 11 shots.
Esperanza didn’t help itself, as the Aztecs missed their first five shots, three of which were layups. They also had problems dealing with Katella’s aggressive defense, which made for a rough game.
At one point in the third quarter, seven of the 10 players were on the floor scrambling for a loose ball. Katella got it.
The Knights controlled the third quarter, but the Aztecs stiffened. Roditis got little room to maneuver and missed the four shots he managed to get off.
“We had to win this game,” Thimgan said. “Everyone knew that.”
In other league games:
Cypress 64, Loara 59--Scott Davis had 27 points, including five three-pointers, for Cypress (11-7, 2-1).
Los Alamitos 79, El Dorado 54--Tim Lin had 23 points, including five three-pointers, forsecond-ranked Los Alamitos (15-3, 3-0).
