Santa Clara Hits in Overtime; Montclair Prep Misses

Nick Jones had lipstick on his right cheek, courtesy of his mom, and was hugged by more people than you could count.

Everybody wanted a piece of Jones, and why not?

The Santa Clara High sophomore scored 26 points and led the Saints to a 61-58 overtime victory over Serra in the semifinals of the Southern Section Division V-AA boys’ basketball playoffs Tuesday night at Moorpark College.

Left for dead at several stages, the third-seeded Saints (21-4) came back time after time before second-seeded Serra (15-15) ran out of time.

Jones scored as many points, seven, as the Cavaliers did in the third quarter. He added seven more in the fourth quarter and hit a jump shot with 31 seconds left in overtime to put Santa Clara up for good, 59-58.

Good enough for Lou Cvijanovich, who has coached Santa Clara for 39 years, to call this victory one of the most memorable.

“It’s as sweet as any of them,” he said. “Especially since we came back from [being knocked to] the floor.”

Down, 59-58, Serra had a chance with four seconds left, but Charlie Paul’s inbounds pass from the sideline was too high for Rodney Hillaire (17 points), who was under the Saints’ basket.

After Santa Clara’s Bob Martinez made two free throws, Gene Parker missed a three-point shot at the buzzer that would have tied the game.

Cvijanovich’s two words of wisdom at halftime sparked the Saints: “Playground ball.”

He told point guard Peter Lee to junk the Saints’ set offense and drive the lane to open up Santa Clara’s stagnant offense.

“Coach told us to create,” Jones said.

Not a bad idea, considering the Saints’ performance in the second quarter, when they had more turnovers (seven) than shots (six). They trailed at halftime, 29-18.

“We were down the toilet,” Cvijanovich said.

But the Saints started a 13-1 run midway through the third quarter and closed to within 34-33.

Serra moved back to a 50-44 lead before Jones and B.J. Ward converted consecutive three-point plays to help bring the Saints to within 53-50 with 1:26 left. Lee made a pair of free throws with 55 seconds left to tie the game, 55-55. Serra’s Davon Johnson missed on a dribble drive with three seconds left.