Santa Margarita edges Bishop Gorman Nike X tune-up

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  RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Ca. – As far as “back-handed compliments” go, this one is world-class:

  “Is there a better eight-loss boys basketball team anywhere than the Santa Margarita High Eagles?”

  That question begged to be asked Thursday night, after Coach Jeff Reinert’s team stunned Las Vegas Bishop Gorman – arguably the best team in the west – 63-60 at Santa Margarita High.

   Coach Grant Rice’s Bishop Gorman Gaels, who face another SoCal team (Chino Hills) Saturday night in the 24^th Nike Extravaganza.

  The host Eagles (18-8) got two free throws from USC-bound Max Agbonkpolo (PICTURED) with 8.1 seconds remaining to push their advantage – which was at seven points three minutes earlier – to three points.

  After a timeout Reinert, Gaels’ sophomore point guard Zaon Collins (who scored 11 of his team-high 20 points in the fourth quarter) was fouled – intentionally – by sophomore Selah Robbins in front of the Bishop Gorman bench before he could get the ball to ace jump shooter Noah Taitz or launch a potential score-tying 3 himself.

   “We thought about doing it (fouling intentionally with a 3-point edge) with about 15 or 16 seconds to go, but that would have left them (the Gaels) too much time,” Reinert said.

  Collins scored on a drive to cut the deficit to a 1 point with 11.4 seconds to go, with Bishop Gorman Coach Grant Rice immediately calling a timeout after the bucket.

  When play resumed, Kendall McHugh inbounded to Agbonkpolo, who was fouled and then walked calmly to the other end of the floor to give the Eagles another 3-point advantage.

   And Reinert decided it was then time to keep Collins, Taitz (three 3s in the first half before all five of his shots after intermission or sophomore Will McClendon from getting a clean look at a potential tying jumper behind the arc.

  Collins missed his first attempt and then clanked the second – intentionally, of course – with the ball ending up in McClendon’s hands about 25-feet away from the right wing. He got up a harried attempt and it was well off the mark.

  It secured the victory over Rice’s Nevada powerhouse (17-4), which came into Orange County ranked as high as 17 nationally.

   Agbonkpolo (22 points and 14 rebounds) and future UCLA Bruin Jake Kyman (20 points, all coming in the final three quarters, with seven rebounds and four blocked shots) performed about as well could be expected.

  But the Eagles got also quality efforts from fellow seniors in point guard McHugh (six assists and a couple of steals) and center Shengzhe Li.

  The BYU-bound Li helped his team recover from an 11-2 deficit to start things by grabbing four rebounds, hitting four of six free throws and throwing down a dunk off a dish from Agbonkpolo.

   He finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds while manning the middle and also doing a nice job in helping limit Bishop Gorman’s 6-foot-9 junior Isaiah Cottrell to just one field goal (in six attempts), six points and six rebounds.

   “We wanted to come out and hit the glass hard,” Reinert said, “and Big Li (who goes about 6-11 and 270ish pounds) set the tone. He didn’t allow them (the Gaels) a lot of room inside.”

   The Eagles also have wins over teams ranked No. 3 (Rancho Christian, on the road), 7 (Etiwanda, in the Classic at Damien), 13 (Trinity League foe Orange Lutheran, at home) and 18 (Camarillo, in the Take Flight Challenge) teams in the BurlisonOnBasketball SoCal Top 25.

   But there have also been eight losses – albeit five of those against BurlisonOnBasketball Top 25 teams (including Trinity foes in No. 11 St. John Bosco, in overtime and on the road; and No. 10 Mater Dei, by 19 points, at home) and two more against two of the better teams in the West in Las Vegas Clark and unbeaten Wasatch Academy of Utah, both on the road.

  And the Eagles’ performance Thursday night was a 180 from their effort in a 14-point loss at Beverly Hills Monday in a game that had been rescheduled from December, when there was a problem with the Beverly Hills floor.

  The Normans (17-4) are a quality team but smallish (no starter taller than 6-4) squad with quality guards that is expected to be a reasonably strong seed in the Southern Section 2AA playoffs with a likely Ocean League title.

   But it wasn’t an opponent any observer would anticipate holding a team with Santa Margarita’s resume to 52 points and beat it by 14 points – regardless of location or tip-off time (noon).

   “It was a mental thing,” Kyman said Thursday night, shaking his head minutes after win against the Gaels.

  “I didn’t think we were ready when we walked into the gym Monday.”

   What gave him cause for optimism Thursday night, even against a nationally ranked opponent with a roster rich in future Division I college players?

   “I knew we matched up pretty well with them (size-wise),” he said. “And we know we’ve already played and beaten a lot of pretty good teams.”

   And, Friday night at 7:30 in Mater Dei’s Nike Extravaganza, Kyman and his buddies will face Coach Steve Smith’s Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, VA) program, the most acclaimed in the country as a literal stopping-off station for hundreds of Division I athletes and 20 or so NBA players under Smith’s 30-year watch.

   Yeah, it’s been quite a schedule for the Eagles – one that’s left for some surprising results, one way or another.

  Will Friday night provide another one?