All Ball Sports: Mustangs win own tourney with two one-point leads
by Paul Teetor
The undefeated Mira Costa boys basketball team won the semifinals and final of their Pacific Shores Classic Tournament by a combined grand total of two points – and one miracle shot.
That’s right: the Mustangs beat Brentwood in the semi-finals Friday night by a score of 70-69 thanks to a buzzer-beating 12-foot baseline shot from Trey Pearce. Then they came back and beat Rolling Hills Prep in the Finals Saturday night at the Fisher Athletic Complex by a 50-49 score that was not quite as close as it sounds.
Leading by four points with seven seconds left and knowing that RHP had no timeouts left, the Mustangs were content to let Huskies guard J.V. Tan hoist a three-pointer that connected, and drew them within one point with two seconds to go, but the buzzer sounded before the Mustangs inbounded the ball.
Trey Pearce’s buzzer beating shot gave the Mustangs a 70-69 win against Brentwood in the semifinals of the Pacific Shores Tournament.
It was a fitting end to a hard-fought and long-awaited victory over RHP, which has traditionally dominated Mira Costa while being ranked year after year as an elite South Bay program, thanks in no small part to legendary coach Harvey Kitani.
For Costa Coach Neal Perlmutter, who may someday become a legend, himself, if he sticks around Costa long enough, and continues his upward coaching trajectory, it was an important step in the evolution of the program he was hired five years ago to lead back to its long-lost glory days.
“We finally beat Rolling Hills Prep,” a jubilant Perlmutter said moments after the game. “When I came here they were one of the top programs in the South Bay, and they still are. That’s why I’m so proud of our kids for this amazing win.”
For Perlmutter, the third time Costa played Rolling Hills Prep during his tenure proved to be the charm. He went out of his way to hug each of his senior stars – gritty point guard Will Householter, smooth shooter Dylan Black, inside-outside guy Nick Lundy and emerging post player Trey Pearce – as they walked off the court.
But Perlmutter was quick to admit that while each of his senior stars had played their accustomed roles to perfection, it was sophomore sensation Jacob De Armas who hit the two key shots late in the game.
Black, a 3-year starter whose shot has looked smoother every year after coming off the bench as a freshman, drilled a 3-pointer at the end of the third period to put Costa ahead 43-40.
But Tan, a short, clever point guard with a nice shooting touch, hit a short jumper to pull the Huskies within 43-42 mid-way through the fourth quarter. As the Mustangs came down the court, the ball found its way to De Armas deep on the right wing, well outside the three-point line.
With the Huskies playing off him and basically inviting him to shoot – after all, the scouting report says he is a sky walker, a ferocious rebounder and fierce shot blocker, but not an outside shooter – De Armas took his time, measured the shot, and let fly with a trifecta that hit nothing but net while drawing a huge roar from the home crowd and suddenly giving the Mustangs a 46-42 lead.
Next time down the court, De Armas lost his defender while cutting to the baseline and an alert Householter airmailed a length-of-the-court pass that hit him in stride. De Armas rose for a monster dunk that sent the home crowd into a frenzy and finally gave the Mustangs some breathing room with a 48-42 lead.
“Those two shots, his 3, and then the dunk, gave us the separation we needed, the separation we hadn’t been able to get all game,” Perlmutter said. “It didn’t surprise me one bit. Jacob is a real baller.”
Black, who said he is going to attend Carnegie-Mellon in Pittsburgh next year, led the Mustangs with 17 points while connecting on four three-pointers.
Householter chipped in with 14 points and Pearce with 8. Tan led RHP with 20 points and Jordan Lee added 12.
In the Friday night semifinal win 70-69 over Brentwood, Lundy led Costa with 17 points, followed by Pearce with 13—including the buzzer-beating game winner. De Armas and Householter both scored 11 apiece to complete a balanced scoring attack.
Costa is now 10-0 and will face West on Wednesday night. RHP is now 7-3 and will face Hamilton Thursday night.
Sophomore Jacob De Armas two key shots gave the Mustangs breathing room against Rolling Hills Prep.
USC Chokes on a bad Hammy
Watching the end of USC’s dream season was like watching a supposedly rich guy go bankrupt: first it happened gradually, then it happened suddenly.
Up 17-3 over Utah early Friday night, the USC dream of a national championship was looking so close – just two more wins after this rout was over and the greatest one-season turnaround in college football’s long history would belong to Coach Lincoln Riley and his Trojans.
Then the dream started dying gradually when star quarterback Caleb Williams began limping after a sensational 59-yard run.
His partially torn hamstring was the turning point in the Pac-12 championship game. Immediately gone were the catch-me-if-you-can scrambles away from frustrated Utah pass rushers, the run/pass/option plays that were so vital to the Trojan resurgence this year after a pathetic 4-8 record last year.
Also gone were the pinpoint passes to his wide receivers and running backs. And gone was the confidence that Williams had given his teammates that they were indeed a team of destiny.
By halftime Utah had tied it at 17-17 after scoring a touchdown right before the horn sounded. Williams limped to the locker room and his teammates slumped their shoulders and hung their heads as they followed him.
Then the dream died suddenly, as Utah came out of the halftime break smoking on both offense and defense. Their pass rushers no longer had to worry about Williams running out of the pocket, which eliminated half of USC’s offense right there.
On the other side of the ball their own star quarterback, Cam Rising, was out to prove he is just as talented as Williams, who came into the PAC-12 championship game as the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.
Then the dream died overwhelmingly, as Utah outscored the Trojans 30-7 after being down 17-3. Suddenly USC linebackers and defensive backs could no longer tackle anybody, letting runners breeze by them and receivers rack up huge gains after catching the ball.
The whole thing was maddening for USC fans – both in Las Vegas, where the game was played, and back home in LA – after the Trojans completely dominated the first quarter, moving the ball at will and shutting down Utah’s prolific offense.
Williams said after the game that he knew immediately he had torn his hamstring near the end of that 59-yard run. And he was also dealing with an injury to his pinkie finger that affected his throwing motion.
“The rest of the game I felt it, but I had something that I always go by,” he said. “Kobe Bryant always said the game is bigger than what you’re feeling.”
In other words, he was going to keep playing no matter what. They would have to cart him off the field before he would leave the game.
From that point on, Riley had backup quarterback Miller Moss warming up on the sideline, clearly ready to go in, and give the Trojans a chance with a mobile quarterback with a live arm. But Riley chose to stick with a hobbled Williams, perhaps out of loyalty to the player who followed him from Oklahoma to LA after last season.
“He was not even close to 50 percent,” Riley said. “In terms of guys I’ve coached at that position it was maybe the gutsiest performance I’ve ever seen.”
Gutsy – yes. Smart – maybe not so smart to leave him in so badly injured and ineffective. The very best coaches know that every player worth his salt will always insist he’s able to play. It’s up to the coach to protect the injured player from himself and protect the team from suffering a needless loss with a hobbled player.
But then Riley, who has been such a strong, inspiring leader all season, made some more mistakes. On their first two touchdown drives, he went for it twice on fourth-and-short and twice the Trojans converted it into a first down.
But then he suddenly lost his courage and go-for-it mentality.
On their third drive, leading 14-3, Williams drove the Trojans downfield to a first-and-goal from the Utah three-yard line. An off-tackle run went nowhere and an increasingly hobbled Williams threw two incompletions. Still, they had all the momentum and another touchdown would give them a seemingly insurmountable 21-3 lead. The smart move would have been to run a mis-direction play specifically designed for a short-yardage, goal line situation.
But this time Riley chose not to go for it, ordered the chip-shot field goal, and the Trojans led 17-3.
A minute later USC recovered a fumble on the Utah 39-yard line. This was yet another chance to drive a stake through the Utes heart. But Riley called two running plays for Austin Jones that were stuffed and soon it was fourth-and-eight. It seemed like the perfect time for a punt that could pin Utah deep near their own goal line, but instead Riley inexplicably chose to go for it this time. He called a pass for Williams, who staggered around in the pocket and finally threw an uncatchable pass.
So Utah took over on downs, completely charged up after dodging two Trojan opportunities that could have put them down 31-3.
From that point on Utah owned the momentum and ultimately owned the game.
All thanks to a partially torn hamstring that killed USC’s dream season.
Sunday afternoon the Trojans learned they did not make the college football playoffs and instead are going to the Cotton Bowl to play Tulane on January 2.
But after they came so close to playing for a national championship, it wasn’t much consolation.
Look for the Trojans to complete their journey next season, when Williams will be back and 100 percent healthy.
Contact: teetor.paul@gmail.com. Follow: @paulteetor. ER