LAWNDALE — With 4.2 seconds to play and the game and the season on the line, the top-seeded Leuzinger boys basketball team was looking to avoid an upset at the hands of Littlerock in Tuesday’s CIF Southern Section Division 4A quarterfinals.
Leuzinger was unable to convert its final layup attempt, the shot falling after the final buzzer and visiting Littlerock escaped with a 60-59 upset.
“We wanted to get the ball to our playmaker (Rashawn Carr), because he usually makes things happen,” Leuzinger coach Arturo Jones said. “We just had a meltdown in the fourth quarter.”
Carr received the inbound pass and found Josh Garland inside the key. The ball was stripped, finding its way to Louis Thomas’, whose first shot hit the front rim before his put-back attempt fell seconds after the buzzer sounded.
Littlerock (19-8), who will be making its first semifinal trip in the program’s history, will host Sage Hill, a 65-63 winner over El Modena.
Leading 51-40 entering the fourth quarter, all signs pointed to Leuzinger (22-9) punching its ticket to the semifinal after a third quarter that saw the Olympians turn a two-point lead into what appeared to be a comfortable cushion.
However, behind William Young and Travis Moore, Littlerock began the fourth on a 6-0 run to make it a 51-46 game.
Leuzinger’s largest lead of the fourth, 59-51, came after Carr’s layup with just over three minutes to play.
Carr scored 11 of his team-high 18 points in the third quarter to go along with four rebounds and three steals.
Littlerock took over from there. Omari Penn’s 3-pointer made it a five-point game before Young’s driving layup cut Leuzinger’s lead to 59-56.
“I saw a lot of resilience and we were right there fighting,” Littlerock coach Gene Myvett said. “These guys have a system and we’re good with X’s and O’s. We can’t play chess with a team, we have to get that push and break it open. We played within our system (Tuesday) and we got through it.”
An Olympian offensive foul at midcourt with 1:36 to play set up Moore’s inside basket that made it a 59-58 game.
Moore had 14 points, four rebounds and three steals for the Lobos while Young had 18 points, four steals and two assists. Ronald Coleman added 18 points for Littlerock.
Related Articles
Bishop Montgomery boys basketball defeats Sierra Canyon thanks to Christian Jones’ big shot
Centennial boys basketball team pulls away from Notre Dame in Open Division playoffs
Mater Dei boys basketball edges Heritage Christian, advances to CIF-SS Division 1 semis
CIF-SS boys basketball playoffs: Tuesday’s scores, updated pairings for Friday’s semifinals
Daily News Boys Athlete of the Week: Bryce Bedgood, Valencia
On its next possession, Leuzinger was unable to get a shot off before the shot-clock expired, giving Littlerock a chance to score the go-ahead basket with 29 seconds to play.
“(Littlerock) pressed us defensively, and it should not have bothered us and we turned the ball over against it,” Jones said. “We made some careless passes and that’s what turned the game around. That offensive foul gave the game away.”
Sean Morgan (18 points, seven rebounds) cleaned the glass before sinking the go-ahead shot with 6.6 seconds to play, giving Littlerock its first, and most important lead, since early in the second quarter.
Thomas scored nine of his 12 points in the third to go along with six rebounds and a block. Amire Jones added 17 points and Garland had 10 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.
“We probably missed 12 layups (Tuesday) and we turned the ball over uncharacteristically down the stretch,” Jones said. “We had no defensive stops or rebounds down the stretch when we should have.”