RIVERSIDE – The Santa Margarita High boys’ basketball team finished in fourth place in the Trinity League on Jan. 30.
On Feb. 23, the Eagles finished atop the CIF Southern Section’s Division 1 playoff bracket.
The Eagles used a stunning final seven minutes – four of those in overtime – to knock off defending champion and top seed Chino Hills, 62-61, Saturday afternoon at Cal Baptist University.
Santa Margarita’s Jake Kyman put things into overtime with a 3-pointer with nine seconds to go – his only points after intermission.
And the Eagles’ Max Agbonkpolo got a steal and a left-handed layup with 1:12 to go in overtime that proved to be the game winner.
The Huskies were in front, 56-47, after two free throws by USC-bound Onyeka Okongwu with 2:52 remaining in the fourth quarter.
But, wrapped around a Chino Hills turnover, the Eagles got 3-pointers from another future Trojan, Agbonkpolo, and Aldo Ruiz Ortiz, to cut their deficit to three points and forced a timeout by Chino Hills Coach Dennis Latimore with 1:56 to play.
It was than a minute’s worth of misses shots and turnovers before someone scored again, center Shengzhe Li with a layup with 22 seconds to go after a “hockey assist” from Kyman to set up Selah Robbins’ “real assist”.
Okongwu (who finished with 29 points, nine rebounds, six assists and five blocked shots) pushed his team’s edge to three points before Kyman’s tying jumper from behind a screen from Agbonkpolo.
The Huskies were left with only an Okongwu miss from 25-feet (or so) from the right side at the regulation-ending buzzer.
Okongwu – in one of the few times he was able to isolate on Li away from the low post – drove for a layup to start the overtime.
The Huskies had a chance to extend the advantage to four points but, after a steal, Will Pluma’s layup attempt was swatted by the trailing Kyman with the Eagles gaining possession.
Li appeared to have charged after his shot was blocked but Sam Keehan was called for the foul giving Li two free throws, which he converted both of to tie the score at 60 with 3:06.
Santa Margarita’s half-court defense kept the Huskies from creating a clean passing angle into Okongwu and he was forced to launch a deep jumper that failed as the shot clock was expiring with 2:30 to go.
Keehan picked off an Agbonkpolo pass and Okongwu was fouled with 1:50 remaining.
But, after swishing his first 14 free throws, Okongwu missed his first attempt but knocking in the second.
The miss was to prove critical.
Kyman missed from behind the arc and Okongwu rebounded.
But Agbonkpolo jarred the ball loose on a pass to Okongwu and converted what proved to be the tying, go-ahead and final points of the contest with 1:13 to go.
The Huskies secured the possession with 13 seconds to go but, after a timeout, Santa Margarita’s defense once more forced Okongwu to go deep into the perimeter to secure a pass and he was reasonably close on a 3-pointer as time expired.
Both teams are expected to play host to State Southern Regional D-I games Tuesday night.
Agbonkpolo (PICTURED) led the Eagles with 23 points while Kyman added 14 and Li eight.
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