Shot in Final 2 Seconds of OT Gets No. 4 Troy Past Brea

Troy forward Ray Mike, still collecting his breath, spoke between protracted huffs Wednesday night about his game-winning basket as if it had just lifted the Warriors to the state title.

“I just got in rebounding position . . . and put it in,” Mike said of his putback with 1.7 seconds left in overtime that gave fourth-ranked Troy a 62-61 nonleague victory over No. 10 Brea Olinda at Brea. “It’s the greatest feeling . . . I’ve had in my whole life.”

The Warriors still have plenty left to accomplish, but one could certainly understand Mike’s enthusiasm. Troy (15-1), off to the best start in Coach T.J. Hardeman’s 10-year reign, appears to be one of the best teams around--that is, when it plays like it did in the fourth quarter and overtime.

The Warriors rallied from an 11-point deficit early in the fourth quarter thanks to center Mark Ahlberg (game-high 34 points) and the poor free-throw shooting of the Wildcats (10-5), who missed three free throws in the final two minutes that could have sealed the win.

“I don’t discredit them,” Brea Coach Bob Terry said, “but we should have won that game. I’m really proud of the kids, the way they battled, but the ball just didn’t bounce for us at the end.”

Wildcat swingman Ryan Moore (20 points) had a chance to give Brea a lead with 5.8 seconds left in regulation but missed two free throws, and the game went into overtime tied at 58.

Ahlberg, who scored 23 points after halftime, opened the scoring in the extra period with a basket underneath with 2:11 to go. The Wildcats’ Kirk Reimer answered with an inside basket of his own to tie the game, and Brea took its final lead, 61-60, on a free throw by Ryan Wilber (19 points).

With four seconds to go, Ahlberg took an inbounds feed underneath but missed. Mike, who finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds, grabbed the loose ball and put it in with 1.7 seconds left to give Troy the decisive margin. Mike was fouled on the play but intentionally missed the free throw so that Brea would have to make a desperation shot to win the game.

Moore’s heave from three-quarters court clanged off the apparatus above the backboard.

“We never gave up,” Mike said. “We knew we had it.”