San Gabriel Academy boys basketball coach Kevin McCloskey talked about his school’s mantra of lifting each other up and never pushing each other down. He said never was that more evident in his team’s character as they battled back from a 10-point deficit to narrowly defeat Oakwood 66-64 in a thriller on Saturday night to claim the CIF-Southern Section Division 3A championship.
It was a championship that was won by a fraction of a second as a potential game-winning 3 by Oakwood went in but was waved off by a referee for being released just after the buzzer.
“I was proud of our guys for never giving up,” McCloskey said. “Every timeout they were over there saying ‘It’s ok. We got this. It’s ok. Let’s go. Don’t get down.’”
San Gabriel Academy’s positivity allowed it to lock in defensively for one final play to earn the championship. Ethan McCloskey was fouled with 16.8 seconds left in the game. He lined up for a 1-and-1 free throw. He missed the first attempt and Oakwood rebounded and moved the ball past half court before calling timeout with 10.9 seconds left down 66-64.
San Gabriel Academy 66, Oakwood 64, final. This final shot was waved off. Eagles win @CIFSS Div. 3A championship. @SGVNSports @Tarek_Fattal pic.twitter.com/cXt58w1x9g
— Donald Morrison (@BruinDonaldRuns) February 26, 2023
The Owls in-bounded the ball to star player Benjamin Eisdendrath who scored a game-high 26 points. He dribbled toward the top of the key then back to the right wing where he was trapped by Mazin Lumori and Jayden Mojica. He quickly turned back left and threw a long pass to the left baseline to Peyton Slaughter who had already hit four of six 3s. Slaughter grabbed the pass beyond the 3-point line and fired a shot that was waved off after time had expired.
“No let down,” said coach McCloskey of his team’s mindset on the last defensive stand. “We played through. We trapped (Oakwood). We made them throw a tough pass and no shot. I’m super…
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