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LA VERNE — The Rancho Christian and Roosevelt boys basketball team both faced a double-digit deficits at halftime Thursday.
Both teams dug out of those holes only to see their hopes of a come-from-behind victory dashed during the closing seconds.
Nate Simon drained a running floater in the paint to give Roosevelt a 52-50 lead with 18 seconds remaining on the clock. But Luke Isaak sank a 3-pointer with 5.5 seconds to lift San Ramon Valley to a 53-52 victory in a Gold Division semifinal game at The Classic at Damien. Roosevelt had a final chance to win, but Darnez Slater’s shot at the buzzer was off-target.
Rancho Christian trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half, but the Eagles trimmed that deficit to a single point in the final minute of the game. Angelo Kamabala knocked down a pair of free throws with 13.7 seconds left to give Liberty (Henderson, Nevada) a 63-60 lead in a Platinum Division semifinal, and a 3-pointer by Rodney Brown Jr. in the final seconds came up short.
Kevin Patton Jr. helped Rancho Christian (7-7) get off to a flying start, as he threw down a pair of thunderous dunks during the opening minute of the game. The Eagles had a 19-17 lead with five minutes remaining in the opening half, but Liberty pieced together a 17-4 run over the final 4 minutes and 18 seconds of the half to take a 34-23 lead into the locker room.
Rancho Christian found itself trailing 42-27 midway through the third period, but the Eagles went on 14-5 run to cut the deficit to six points heading to the final quarter. Rancho Christian sustained that momentum at the start of the fourth quarter. Titus Davis knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and Kollen Murphy sank another to get the Eagles within 59-56 with two minutes remaining.
Dedan Thomas sank two free throws to give Liberty a five-point lead with 1:48 on the clock. Patton answered back with a pair of free throws of his own and then scored a basket to help Rancho Christian get within 61-60 with 48 seconds left on the clock.
Thomas’ droving layup clanged off the rim, but Kambala scooped up the rebound and Rancho Christian was forced to foul.
Patton scored a game-high 24 points to lead Rancho Christian, and Murphy added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Eagles.
Thomas had 20 points, 10 coming in the final period, to lead Liberty (10-2), which avenged a previous 69-65 loss to the Eagles.
Roosevelt (11-4) held a 10-6 lead midway through the first period. but the Mustangs struggled from the field during the opening half, making just 6 of 26 shots. San Ramon Valley used a 14-5 run in the second quarter to build a 34-19 lead at halftime.
Simon had the hot hand for Roosevelt in the second half. He sank three 3-pointers in the third quarter and knocked down another at the start of the fourth period to give the Mustangs a 44-42 lead. Simon had an and-1 and scored again to help Roosevelt extend the lead to 60-44 with 4:27 to play. However, the Mustangs made just one of their final seven shots from the field.
Parker McClaughry scored a bucket, and Elliot Conley sank a 3-pointer to level the score at 50 with 2:03 left to play.
Simon scored 19 of his game-high 21 points in the second half to lead Roosevelt’s comeback effort. Slater added 11 points.
Isaak and Seamus Deely scored 15 and 13 points, respectively, to lead the way for San Ramon Valley (13-1).
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