Downey Calvary Chapel 68, Granada Hills Hillcrest Christian 63

It was hard to believe the scoreboard late in the third quarter. Granada Hills Hillcrest Christian had a 17-point lead over heavily favored Downey Calvary Chapel in a Division V-AA semifinal game.

Coach Joshua Kendrick was looking like a genius for having his team watch the inspirational basketball movie, “Hoosiers” the night before. His players were following the script to perfection--except for the ending.

Tim Drisdom, a junior guard who is so highly regarded that USC Coach Henry Bibby dropped by to scout him, made consecutive three-pointers in the final minute to help No. 2-seeded Calvary Chapel pull out a victory at Faith Baptist.

Drisdom finished with 28 points. His three-pointer with one minute left gave the Grizzlies a 64-63 advantage, their first lead since late in the first quarter. His three-pointer with 14 seconds left was a clincher.

“We got close, they got nervous and we took advantage,” said Drisdom, last season’s Division V-AA player of the year.

Foul trouble, injuries and lack of height hurt Hillcrest Christian (21-4), which was outscored, 21-4, in the fourth quarter.

“They pounded it inside and I guess our height finally caught up with us,” Kendrick said. “We lost it, but I don’t know if the best team won.”

Hillcrest Christian, with no player taller than 6 feet 2, surprised the Grizzlies with precision passing and execution. The Eagles made nine three-pointers through three quarters and received tremendous play from junior point guard Alex Martino, who finished with 21 points.

Facing the toughest challenge of his career going against Drisdom, Martino was almost perfect in the first half. He had only one turnover, made five of six shots, had three three-pointers and made all four of his free throws.

James Habashy, playing despite a painful ankle sprain, contributed 14 points for the Eagles, who made 14 of 15 free throws.