Santa Clara Off Line in Repeat Bid

Santa Clara High battled back from an 11-point third-quarter deficit to force overtime, but like many of their shots from the free-throw line, the Saints fell short in an 82-76 loss to Pacific Hills in the Southern Section Division V-AA championship game Friday at UC Irvine’s Bren Events Center.

“One game we make ‘em, and the next one we don’t. It’s really frustrating,” said Santa Clara center Ryan McGill, who missed two free throws with 47.5 seconds left and the Saints trailing, 67-65.

McGill wasn’t the only Santa Clara player to miss from the line with the game on the line in the closing seconds of regulation.

Even B.J. Ward, who finished with a game-high 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, missed one of two attempts with 17.1 seconds left.

Santa Clara (14-13) made 11 of 26 (42.4%) from the line; Pacific Hills (24-7) was 16 of 30.

Despite the poor shooting and 18 turnovers, the defending-champion Saints were within range of their 15th title in 17 appearances in a final, thanks mostly to Ward and Nick Jones.

The pair combined to score all 25 of Santa Clara’s fourth-quarter points, the team’s final 33 points in regulation, and 36 of the Saints’ last 41 points overall.

Jones, who missed 20 games this season because of a broken left foot, was practically a one-man gang in the fourth quarter. He scored 17 of his 25 points in the final period, including the basket that sent the game into overtime.

Pacific Hills was led by Conrad Adamczak with 27 points and eight rebounds.

DIVISION IV-AA

Santa Ana Calvary Chapel lost in a championship final for the second year in a row, this time to Santa Maria St. Joseph, 75-67, in overtime.