NEWPORT BEACH – Watch enough basketball games over six decades and you may not see everything.
But you’re going to come close . . .
That was the case at Pacifica Christian High, where the host Tritons took on – and knocked off, San Gabriel Academy, 64-57 – in a San Joaquin League clash.
The Tritons (5-1 in league and 16-10 overall) used the scoring and rebounding of the Stewart Brothers (senior Alex and junior Logan, who combined for 21 first-half points) to go up midway through the second quarter, 29-13.
But the Eagles (2-4 and 11-9), sparked by 6-foot-6 senior Bamba Kossi’s 12 points, cut the Tritons’ advantage to 10 points at intermission.
And Koss and 6-4 sophomore Mo Traore split 14 points in the third quarter to trim their deficit to one point going into the fourth quarter.
The Eagles took a couple of one-point leads, the last of those with 2:30 to go when Traore hit one of two free throws.
The hosts re-gained the lead (56-55) on the next possession via a couple of free throws by 6-2 junior Hudson Reynolds with 2:06 remaining.
And, moments later, things got peculiar . . .
The Eagles missed a shot and freshman Mohamed Toure fouled Tritons’ sophomore Sammy Gibbs on the rebound, sending Gibbs to the free-throw line with 1:50 to go.
When the buzzer sounded from the scorers’ table to indicate that Toure had picked up his fifth and disqualifying foul and would need to be replaced, San Gabriel Academy Coach Kevin McCloskey was faced with that rarest of dilemmas for coaches on any level of basketball:
He had no one on the bench eligible to replace Toure. Two other players had already fouled out and freshman center Mahamadou Diop was already on crutches with an apparent sprained left ankle late in the first period.
There were two other players in uniform on the bench, but they had played in the junior varsity game between the teams, and, according to CIF Southern Section guidelines, athletes can’t play in junior varsity and varsity games on the same day.
When McCloskey explained the personnel situation in a brief meeting with a game official in front of the scorers’ table, he asked about putting one of the two JV game-participants into the game – and Pacifica Christian Coach Jeff Berokoff was amendable.
But they were reminded of the rule (using an “ineligible for the game” player in the game would have likely resulted in a forfeit – regardless the final score and victor) so McCloskey was left with no other option:
The Eagles would be playing the rest of the game “4 on 5” – or so everyone in the building aware of the situation assumed, that is.
Gibbs missed both free throws and the Eagles “4-player” squad couldn’t score at the other end in transition and fouled Gibbs again on the rebound.
Gibbs knocked in both free throws this time and, after a Berokoff timeout to urge his team to contest all potential 3-point attempts by SGA as solidly as possible (without fouling), the Eagles missed a jump shot but the Tritons committed a turnover after the ensuing rebound.
The visitors cashed in on the miscue via a Marquise Humphreys’ solo layup that got them to within a point and McCloskey called a timeout, with 1:06 on the clock, immediately after the bucket.
When play resumed, the Tritons moved the ball quickly around the 4-member defense, trying to convert the highest-percentage attempt.
And then Humphries was called for a reaching foul with 47.7 to go, giving Reynolds (pictured shooting a free throw/he finished with a team-high 21 points) a couple free throws.
But that was Humphries’ fifth foul.
And, yep, the Eagles were going to have to play the rest of the way with just three players – Traore, and freshmen Sean Palmer and Xavier Wang – on the floor after Reynolds swished both attempts.
Palmer missed a jumper, and 6-5 junior Miles Harnish rebounded for the Tritons, with sophomore Michael Noel (10 points) scoring to push the lead to five, 62-57.
Palmer and Traore missed jumpers at the other end and Reynolds was fouled, knocking in two free throws with 6.2 tics.
And – finally – it was over.
For those wondering, Traore, Palmer and Wang had four, three and four fouls, respectively, left in their back pockets when the buzzer sounded.
So, yeah, even if they’d forced a couple of more turnovers and hit a couple more shots against the hosts, “2 on 5” wasn’t going to happen Tuesday night.
But then, again . . . never mind.
What transpired Tuesday night was weird enough to even think about something even more into the realm of bizarre.
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