WESTLAKE — Four quarters of basketball wasn’t enough to decide the Marmonte League champion.
The Oaks Christian and Westlake boys basketball teams battled through regulation and three overtime periods Thursday night with the league title on the line.
Oaks Christian needed to win to get a share of the title, and after an extra 12 minutes of basketball, the Lions emerged on top, defeating Westlake 73-67 in the regular-season finale.
Westlake was already guaranteed to have a share of the title, but a win would have put them in sole possession of the crown.
Oaks Christian, along with Westlake and Thousand Oaks, all finished league play with 8-2 records, equating to a three-way tie for the league title.
“This means so much to our team,” Oaks Christian guard Troy McGovern said. “We had a bunch of injuries and we put the team together right at the start of the season. It was a difficult process to get here but we came together. We played unselfish and we got some big wins earlier in the year.”
“It’s incredible. We started the season 3-6 and we’re 18-10 now,” Oaks Christian head coach Mark Amaral said. “These are types of things they can reflect back on and we can hold them accountable. You want to get to a certain level, this is what it takes.”
The game was close down the stretch, but it was all Oaks Christian in the first quarter.
McGovern had seven early points to lead the Lions to a 16-4 lead heading into the second quarter.
Westlake started the second quarter with an 8-0 run to get back into the game, and could have taken the lead if it weren’t for senior Brett Johnson, who came off the bench and scored seven points in the quarter for Oaks Christian.
The Warriors grabbed their first lead of the game two minutes into the third quarter, with Kayden Elsokary helming the Warriors’ offense, but the advantage dissipated heading into the fourth quarter.
Much like the first eight minutes of the game, the Warriors struggled early in the…
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