Van Nuys Throws Its Wait Around, 76-73

The Van Nuys High boys’ basketball team hasn’t been to a championship game in 39 years.

Which is about how long the second half of Saturday’s City Section 3-A Division semifinal game against Narbonne seemed to the Wolves.

Van Nuys exploded in the first half, imploded in the second, and rejoiced when it ended, in a 76-73 victory at Pierce College.

With its 25-point lead nearly frittered away, Van Nuys stiff-armed a ferocious comeback by Narbonne thanks to skill--making a few key free throws--and luck--watching Floyd Harvey’s three-point shot at the buzzer bounce off the front of the rim.

Top-seeded Van Nuys (16-9) finds itself in a title game for the first time since 1947, when the Wolves lost to Fairfax in the initial City Section basketball championship game.

“I told everybody before the game that the championship is what we want,” said Onaje Longmire, who scored a game-high 26 points. “I knew we could get beyond this.”

The Wolves’ victory guarantees that an area team will win the 3-A championship for the first time since North Hollywood in 1990. Canoga Park and Van Nuys, a pair of Valley Pac-8 Conference foes, meet Friday at 8 p.m. at Cal State Los Angeles.

The teams split a pair of regular-season games that now seem a trifle meaningless compared to what awaits Friday.

“It’s tied, 1-1, and it’s got to be settled,” said Longmire, whose Wolves defeated Canoga Park in January, 79-77, but lost on Feb. 3, 84-78. “I want a rematch.”

He’s got it.

Barely.

Thanks to a near-perfect first half, Van Nuys held a cozy 57-32 lead early in the third quarter.

Then Narbonne (12-13) cranked up its full-court press and went on a 17-0 run that included three consecutive steals in the backcourt that led to six points.

Van Nuys committed nine turnovers in the third quarter. The lead was trimmed to 69-59.

“We knew they were going to make a run at us,” said second-year Coach Kevin Kanemura, whose Wolves lost at home to Narbonne in the first game of the season, 67-62.

Van Nuys steadied slightly and led, 70-58, with 2 minutes 6 seconds left after a free throw by Longmire.

But the Gauchos made three three-point baskets and forced the Wolves to win the game at the free-throw line.

Paul Yi, who had not played the past two games and was on the court because Jon Okui fouled out, calmly sank two free throws with 19 seconds left to put the Wolves up, 75-70.

Harvey, who had 18 points, made a three-pointer with 10 seconds left. Longmire made only one of two free throws, setting up a long three-point attempt by Harvey as time expired.

“Centimeters off,” Narbonne Coach Daryl Bell said.

“Everything happened so fast,” Harvey said. “It’s still going on in my mind right now.”

Van Nuys was torrid during the first half, hitting four three-pointers in the first quarter for a 27-9 lead.

The Wolves burned the Gauchos for several easy transition baskets in the second quarter and led at halftime, 48-27.

Kris Hurdle scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half, six on fast breaks.

Longmire had 20 points at the break and the Wolves held Narbonne to nine-of-34 shooting, a puny 26.5%.

“Narbonne was probably thinking, ‘What the heck’s going on here?’ ” Kanemura said.

So were members of the Canoga Park basketball team, who watched from the bleachers.

“I know [Canoga Park] Coach Ralph Turner was smiling,” said Kanemura, who was smiling himself after the game.

After all, 1947 was a long time ago.