Tesoro survives furious rally by JSerra to win 55-54 in semifinals of Gary Raya Classic and advances to title game against CdM

Noah Honetschlager of Tesoro goes up for a shot as DJ Rodman of JSerra defends Friday night in the semifinals of the Gary Raya Classic.

It was a wild and dramatic finish Friday night in the championship semifinal game of the So Cal Elite Gary Raya boys basketball classic at Northwood.

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Two free throws by Tesoro’s 6-8 center Noah Honetschlager with 4.9 seconds lifted the Titans to a 55-54 victory over JSerra, handing the county’s No 4-ranked team its first loss of the season.

After calling a timeout, JSerra (12-1) got off an outside jumper but the shot fell off the rim as time expired.

Tesoro (7-1) moves on to the finals Saturday at 6:15 p.m. at Woodbridge against Corona del Mar.

“It was stressful, all the pressure is on you to make those free throws,” said Honetschlager, who had 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead Tesoro. “You hear the gym, but you just got to take two dribbles, breathe in and drown everything else and make the shots.”

Hontetschlager, who shoots about 85 percent from the free throw line, made 10 of 11 attempts Friday night.

The game featured two teams ranked in the top 10 of Orange County by the Orange County Register: No. 4 JSerra and No. 7 Tesoro.

JSerra, missing four of five starters because of injuries, put on a remarkable second half comeback led by DJ Rodman, who scored 23 of his 31 points in the final two quarters.

Tesoro led 35-15 at halftime but JSerra battled back. With Honetschlager out for much of the third quarter with three fouls, the Lions were able to outscore the Titans 20-12 to give themselves a chance at a comeback.

The Lions’ full-court pressure caused turnovers in the final quarter and Tesoro’s lead evaporated. JSerra moved out to a 54-53 lead when Rodman converted a turnover in a basket and a free throw with 44 seconds left.

Both teams had turnovers on their next trips down and JSerra was unable to convert a pair of free throws on another possession. Finally, Honetschlager was able to make the two free throws to seal the win.

“The play kind of broke down, we got a shot up and I got the offensive rebound and tried to go up with it and got pulled down and made the free throws,” he said.

Tesoro’s junior guard Matt DeAngelo also played well, scoring 11 points and recording three steals. He was part of a very happy locker-room celebration.

“I was really proud of our kids,” said Tesoro Coach Steve Garrett. “They came out and just did a great job focusing on the details. We want to keep improving on both sides of the ball. I wasn’t trying to change anything different tonight, just play the same way we do with great possessions and play tough defensively and stick together.

“This team is really, really close, there are no egos; it’s all about winning and they just want to win. Rodman is special, and then momentum changes and we cough it up a few times, but it all starts with him getting going. He’s a great player and obviously one of the best players in the county. I’m sure grateful we pulled it out. I felt we played well enough. I would have felt really bad for these kids losing like that.”

“I’m super proud of all of our kids, just battling.” I had some great assistance tonight with Coach (Joshua) Parks. He called some great plays and really did a great job too just keeping everybody focused on the task at hand.”

JSerra Coach Keith Wilkinson said he was pleased with his team’s comeback, but said the Lions created problems for themselves with their slow start.

“It was just a tough start for us,” Wilkinson said. “We got a lot of young kids out there. Outside of DJ, we don’t have a guy who’s played a lot of minutes in the Trinity League. So this is a brand new team and I think they were a little bit nervous to start and then they settled down in the second half and I think our sophomores gave us a lift.

“We had four sophomores out there: Max Bowman, Nolan Bell (who made a 3-pointer well beyond the half-court line at the end of the second quarter), Jasper Lott and Paxton Burzell and obviously DJ played really well and kept us in it, but we can’t put ourselves in that big of a hole.”

Rodman was on a mission in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 points.

“It was a tough one, it was a tough loss,” he said. “Most of the loss comes from the first half when we scored 15 points. It comes down to the little stuff like setting screens for each other, making free throws, making shots and finishing around the rim. But the second half, that’s how we should play all the time, moving the ball and making shots and just playing more as a team instead of trying to go one-on-one all the time.”

JSerra will be out to take home third place when it faces Edison Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Woodbridge.

“I think it will carry over to the next game, mostly because it’s our first loss of the season and we’re going to be fired up to play,” Rodman said. “But playing that hard in the second half, it’s just so tough to lose by just one point. Maybe calls didn’t go our way, but that’s not a determining factor of the game as a whole.”

CDM ADVANCES INTO FINALS AGAINST TESORO

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com

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