Etiwanda holds on to win elusive regional title
SAN DIEGO >> There was a moment in the third quarter when Dave Kleckner seemed to be having flashbacks.
The look on Kleckner’s face said it all: “Can this really be happening again?” Flash forward 45 minutes, and there was a different look on Kleckner’s face. And this time, the emotion being felt was “It finally happened.”
The Etiwanda boys basketball team let most an 18-point lead slip away in the second half Saturday evening, but the Eagles righted the ship and made enough free throws down the stretch to hold on for a 68-65 victory over previously-unbeaten Torrey Pines in the CIF State’s Open Division SoCal regional championship game.
Etiwanda (14-2) won the first regional championship in this program’s storied history on its sixth attempt.
The breakthrough victory comes in a season where there will be no state championship games because many sections in Northern California elected not to have playoffs because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’ll take it,” Kleckner said. “We did all that we could in the games we did get to play. I am proud of how these kids progressed in a short time period. We struggled at times today but found a way to get it done.”
The regional final had been a cursed game for Etiwanda over the years, and some of the losses have been particularly devastating. In the 2019 Division I final, the Eagles had an 11-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, but Chino Hills rallied for a 49-47 win. In last season’s Open Division final, Etiwanda was up 11 with less than three minutes to play, but Sierra Canyon scored 13 unanswered points to pull out a 63-61 win.
Etiwanda put on an offensive clinic during the first half Saturday night. The Eagles made 18 of 27 shots from the field, including 7 of 12 from behind the 3-point arc, to take a commanding 44-27 halftime lead. Jahmai Mashack scored 16 points during that first half, and Marcus Green added 13 points for the Eagles.
“I think it was all about confidence,” Green said. “We know what we can do when we’re on the same page.”
Things started to spiral for the Eagles late in the first half, when Darvelle Wyatt took a nasty fall onto the floor. Wyatt had to be helped off the court and was unable to return to the game.
With Wyatt out, Torrey Pines (30-1) was able to focus more attention on trying to slow down Mashack in the second half. The Falcons also got things going offensively, as Nick Herrmann and Chris Howell combined to score 14 points during the third quarter to cut the deficit to six points.
Torrey Pines drained four consecutive free throws to get within 5655 with 3:55 remaining on the clock. Etiwanda did not give up the lead, however, and Green answered with an and-1 to push the lead back to four. Mashack, Green and Jimmy Baker combined to make five free throws in the final 1:30 to help seal the win.
“It’s about staying composed,” Mashack said. “No matter what the score is, no matter what the crowd is saying, it come down to just playing basketball. We were composed, we were confident and we pulled through.”
Torrey Pines had two chances to send the game into overtime. Herrmann’s 3-point attempt with five seconds left was off target, and the ball went off the hand of an Etiwanda player and out of bounds with 0.9 seconds on the clock. Hermann slipped on the ensuing inbound pass, and the ball ended up in Mashack’s hands as the final buzzer sounded.
“The last two years, I have often thought about what could I have done differently to change the outcome of those games,” Kleckner said. “It feels go to finally win one and not have to think about those things again.”
Green and Mashack had 22 and 21 points, respectively, for Etiwanda, and Curtis Williams added 10 points.
Herrmann finished with a game-high 24 points for Torrey Pines, and Howell had 18 points for the Falcons.