Wildcats’ season ends in OT loss
BRAWLEY — Just one week ago, the Brawley Union High boys’ basketball team was celebrating a victory over Olympian in the CIF-San Diego Section Div. IV finals.
In reaching the section final, both teams were selected to advance to the CIF State Div. V tourney and in a serendipitous bracket pairing, the two squads met once against in the second-round of the state championships here on Saturday night.
The Wildcats earned the tourney’s No. 4 seed, while Olympian came in as the No. 12 seed in a rematch that would favor the visiting Eagles 59-51 in overtime.
“It was ours to win in regulation but we broke down and couldn’t get it going again and that cost us,” said Wildcat head coach Jeff Deyo. “Then in overtime they were able to get it going and we couldn’t recover.”
While the Wildcats did not have the solid finish they are accustomed to, a strong start in the opening quarter of the game helped keep the Eagles at bay, until the overtime period, where they outscored Brawley 10-2.
Heading into the second quarter of the game, Brawley held a 19-8 lead over Olympian after Danial Gonzalez hit a jumper just before the clock expired. Rather than fold under pressure Olympian opened the second quarter with a 6-0 run narrowing the lead 19-14 before a Brawley time out with 4 minutes, 26 seconds left before the half.
The Wildcats worked to answer Olympian’s run with help from Casey Kline and Isaiah Bustamante, who helped Brawley to a 27-18 lead at the half.
Similar to the second half, Olympian opened the third quarter with 4-0 run before Brawley’s Moises Lazos put up a score to make it 29-23.
The teams traded points until the score was tied 3333 with 3:36 left before the fourth.
An Olympian three-pointer and timeout gave the visitors a slight advantage with 2:41 to play before Bustamante and Jonathan Zarate tied the game 37-37 with 19 seconds left in the third period.
Zarate also hit one free throw with 7.2 seconds left to give Brawley a narrow 38-37 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
To start the fourth, Brawley worked to take a 46-41 advantage, yet an Olympian three-pointer quickly put the Eagles and their fans back in the game with 3:45 to go in regulation.
With 20 seconds left in the game, the teams were tied 4949 with Olympian in possession of the ball.
The Wildcats worked to record a steal and appeared to be on their way to winning the game on a fast break yet, miscommunication on the play led to a turnover giving Olympian possession with seven seconds left in the game.
“There were about three plays, had they worked out, we would have been able to win it in regulation, but in coach (jargon), it wasn’t meant to be,” Deyo said.
The Wildcats end the season with a historic 27-8 record, a CIF-San Diego Section Div. IV title and a second-round appearance in the CIF State Boys’ Basketball Championships.
Brawley loses five seniors to graduation including Adalberto Lopez, Lazos, Bustamante, David Tapia and Justin Polanco.