SOUTHERN SECTION BOYS’ BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : DIVISION III-AA : Servite’s Cool, Calm Vallas Collects a Victory Over Sonora

Kristian Vallas was confident. With his team trailing by one with 30 seconds to play, the Servite point guard wanted the ball.

As a result, Vallas made two free throws with three seconds to play to put the Friars in the Division III-AA final with a 47-46 victory over Sonora at Villa Park High.

Servite (20-8), which will face Santa Margarita for the championship next Saturday at Anaheim Arena, survived a hectic fourth quarter during which the lead changed hands five times in the last four minutes.

Josh Lien gave Sonora (23-4) a 46-45 lead with 58 seconds left with a free throw and then got the rebound after he missed his second attempt, but Sonora later was called for a backcourt violation, giving Servite the chance to win.

After a timeout, the Friars got the ball to Vallas, who was fouled under the basket with three seconds left. He calmly hit the first shot to tie the score and after a Sonora timeout, made the second.

“I wanted the opportunity to win it,” Vallas, a 6-3 senior, said. “I was real calm up there.” Vallas led all scorers with 19 points. He made six of eight free-throw attempts.

Sonora, the top-seeded team in Division III-AA, rebounded from a sluggish start that saw them fall behind 12-0. It did not make a basket until there was 2:05 left in the first quarter. The Raiders chipped away at the lead in the second quarter behind center Craig Clark (10 points) and Sergio Hernandez (17 points). Although they trailed 21-20 at halftime, Sonora came out strong in the second half, building an eight-point lead 33-25 with 1:48 left in the third.

Mark Seaton, Servite’s 6-9 center, kept Clark in check, limiting him to one basket in the second half. The pair dueled in the low post most of the game, before Clark fouled out with 5:26 to play.