Heritage holds off rival Paloma to secure playoff berth
Heritage forward Bryan Banks works to get off a shot against Paloma Valley. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group) By Doug Spoon, Editor I...
By Doug Spoon, Editor
In the second meeting in two days between crosstown rivals, Heritage High defeated Paloma Valley 62-59 on Friday, clinching a CIF boys basketball playoff berth in the process.
The teams finished the regular season tied for third place in the Sunbelt League after Paloma Valley’s home victory over the Patriots on Thursday night. With a loud home crowd cheering them on this time, the Patriots avenged that victory in the tiebreaker game and assured themselves a postseason berth – although it wasn’t easy.
Heritage led 58-50 late in the fourth quarter before Paloma Valley went on a 7-0 scoring run, taking advantage of Patriot turnovers and strong inside play. Nathan Torres’ free throw with just over a minute left cut the deficit to 58-57.
That’s when Heritage junior guard Aiden De Leon drove to the basket, drew a foul and sank two free throws for a 60-57 lead. A layup by Aidyn Hendricks a moment later increased the lead to 62-57, but the Wildcats were still alive when Gannon Tillman sank two free throws, cutting the deficit again to three points.
In the frantic final 25 seconds:
-- Heritage’s Ricky Sanchez missed a free throw that could’ve given the Wildcats a bit more breathing room.
-- Paloma Valley’s Torres missed a free throw with 9.7 seconds remaining, but the Wildcats got the ball back for one last chance.
-- Three Paloma 3-point attempts failed in the final seconds – including a shot blocked by Heritage’s Hendricks – to give the Patriots the victory.
“Our defense, we kept it together,” De Leon said about the Patriots’ success in a game that set a frantic pace. “We stuck together. And I’m not gonna lie, home court advantage helped a lot.”
That was obvious throughout the game. A boisterous fan base cheered wildly late in the third quarter, first when De Leon sank a 3-point shot, and moments later when forward Bryan Banks made a driving layup, hit a jumper from the right side and scored on a spin move for a 10-point lead at 49-39.
Banks led all scorers with 23 points, followed by De Leon with 16 and Hendricks with 10. In the postgame celebration, thoughts of the Patriots’ loss the night before were all but wiped away.
“We were down after that game, but coach told us to keep our head up and that we still had a chance to make the playoffs,” Banks said. “The fast pace … that kind of works to our advantage.”
Paloma Valley was led by guard Donovan Larry with 15 points, followed by Anderson Tat with 12.
The Patriots will learn about their postseason future on Sunday, when playoff brackets are announced by the CIF Southern Section office.
“Paloma deserves the playoffs, too,” De Leon said. “They fought hard. We’re rivals. We talk trash to each other, but when you’re playing for the playoffs, you’re pumped.”
Senior guard Ricky Sanchez moves the ball upcourt in Friday's game. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)
