Disputed Timeout Helps San Clemente
After almost blowing a 16-point third-quarter lead, San Clemente High hung on to win a girls’ basketball game after Fullerton Troy Coach Kevin Kiernan called a costly timeout in the closing seconds Monday.
Costly because the official scorer ruled he had none left with 2.6 seconds remaining and his team trailing by one point.
Lindsey Pluimer made the two technical free throws and San Clemente won, 66-62, in front of a capacity crowd at Anaheim Canyon High at the Martin Luther King Jr. Classic.
After the game, Kiernan said he believed the official scorer made a mistake.
“They said we used too many timeouts. We checked every time,” he said.
There was no denying the star power of Pluimer.
She and San Clemente’s other go-to player, Sara Brown, outscored Fullerton Troy’s Alicia Komaki and Amanda Livingston by four points--the margin of victory.
Pluimer, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, scored 25, and Brown 17 as San Clemente--ranked No. 3 in the region by The Times--improved to 16-3 and ended fourth-ranked Troy’s 17-game unbeaten streak. Komaki scored 20, Livingston 18 with 13 rebounds.
Pluimer had 10 of San Clemente’s 35 rebounds, which were 13 more than Troy.
“This game has always been marked on our calendar,” said Pluimer, who added that it was probably the biggest game she has played--and that included last year’s Southern Section Division I-AA title win over Irvine. It was the first time in several years that the two top-ranked teams from Orange County played each other.
Pluimer’s play proved pivotal in the third quarter, when San Clemente built a 48-32 lead.
After Kim Buffum made a three-point shot to open the second half for a 35-30 lead, Pluimer scored the next eight points, six on offensive rebounds.
Martin Henderson
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In boys’ basketball games:
Santa Ana Mater Dei 65, San Diego Horizon Christian 56--Mike Strawberry scored 16 points and Wesley Washington added 15 as the Monarchs (18-4) rallied past the Panthers (16-4) in the Dream Classic matchup between the top teams from Orange and San Diego counties at Azusa Pacific.
Los Angeles Verbum Dei 71, Downey Calvary Chapel 63--Verbum Dei’s Richard Chaney scored 25 points to win the Dream Classic battle against future Utah teammate Tim Drisdom, who had 19 points for Calvary Chapel.
Chaney scored six points as the No. 15 Eagles (17-3), who trailed, 54-52, with 5:33 remaining, closed the nonleague game on a 19-9 run. Ralph Miley had 24 points for the Grizzlies (16-4).
Ben Bolch
