Santa Ana boys basketball team rallies to defeat Saddleback 56-40 and clinch second place in Orange Coast League

Santa Ana senior Adrian Barba takes the ball into Saddleback’s paint as he is guarded by Marc Arroyo. Barba finished the night with four points.

During an emotional Senior Night in which Santa Ana’s boys basketball team fell behind early 8-0, the Saints dug deep in the second and third quarters to defeat Saddleback 56-40 at The Court Thursday night while clinching second place in the Orange Coast League.

To see the slide show, please click on the first photo

Santa Ana seniors Nick Larriva (left) and Julian Gomez before Thursday's game.

Santa Ana's Adrian Barba poses with his family before being introduced on Senior Night

Santa Ana's Drew Ramirez was one of the seniors honored.

Julian Gomez was one of the Santa Ana seniors honored.

Santa Ana players get fired up before Thursday's game.

Jesus Silva was one of the Santa Ana seniors honored.

Nick Larriva was one of the Santa Ana seniors honored.

Jésus Silva of Santa Ana advances the ball as Saddleback's Antonio Reyes defends.

The Santa Ana band entertains the fans Thursday night.

Saddleback players look on before the start of Thursday's game.

Saddleback's Marc Arroyo gets ready to take the court.

Senior Julian Gómez brings the ball up for the Saints.

Santa Ana applies the defensive pressure against Saddleback's Mauricio Pérez in the first quarter of the final Orange Coast League game for both teams.

Saints' Drew Ramirez receives pressure from the Saddleback defense.

Saddleback's Jésus Jímenez receives pressure from Santa Ana's Jerry Estrella.

Saddleback's Marc Arroyo loses the ball to Santa Ana's Adrian Barba on Thursday night's Orange Coast League match-up.

The Roadrunners (3-21, 1-9) got off to a hot start by pressing the Saints (14-13, 7-3) to force shots and speeding up their ball handlers to pass the ball into tight spots that created turnovers.

As a result the home team trailed early and wasn’t until a late basket by senior Julian Gómez in the late minutes of the first quarter that the crowd came into life as Santa Ana managed to reduce the deficit to 11-9.

“After Saddleback jumped to an eight- point lead in the first quarter we knew it was going to be a tough game. It’s defense that got us back into the game,” said Santa Ana Coach Fareed ElMasry. “I’m so proud of our seven seniors for their tenacity and leadership. Getting second place is awesome, but now we look to the next game.”

From that point on the offense took over for the Saints in the second quarter and were able to pull ahead 22-20 going into half-time.

Jésus Silva (15 points) and Sebastian Olvera (10 points) carried the offensive load for the Saints. Most of those scores came in the clutch moments of the second half.

The Roadrunners were led by Darrel Salinas with 17 points, and Jesus Jimenez tallied another six. Salinas had seven of his points in the first quarter of the game.

In addition to having a second half offensive spark, Santa Ana settled down defensively and was able to limit the roadrunners to just 18 points.

The Saints await the CIF Southern Section brackets to determine who will be their playoff opponent.

The last time Santa Ana qualified for the basketball post-season was in 2013.

“I’m thrilled. The Golden West League was always rough with the usual teams taking their playoff spots. We just wanted to compete and we get to do that in the Orange Coast League,” said ElMasry.

Santa Ana bounced back from Tuesday night’s heartbreaking 64-75 defeat to Costa Mesa that consecuently gave the Mustangs the outright Orange Coast League title.

With the victory the Saints swept the season series against their cross-town rivals, who won their only league game Tuesday night against Orange 55-50.

-Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone