Senior point guard Lorne Jackson scored 14 of his 37 points, including the game-winning shot with 15 seconds remaining in overtime, and senior forward Mike Meza scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter for Simi Valley (15-1, 4-0), which came back to tie the game against visiting Westlake (10-6, 1-3) after trailing by 15 at 63-48, at the end of the third quarter. Jackson went 13 for 17 from the free-throw line and had nine rebounds, eight assists and four steals. Meza added eight rebounds and four blocks, including one at the end of regulation to force overtime, and teammate Brad Lewis hit a key three-pointer in overtime and finished with 13 points. Andres Svennefiord had 27 points and Adam Kolodney added 24 points for Westlake.
Simi Valley holds off Westlake
By Zachary McVicker Correspondent
By Zachary McVicker Correspondent
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Westlake High's T.J. Hennessey watched his 3-point attempt at the buzzer hit the back iron, carom a few feet in the air and then barely miss coming down into the basket.
The shot summed up Westlake's upset bid of Marmonte League boys' basketball powerhouse Simi Valley.
Oh, so close.
Lorne Jackson's go-ahead basket with 17 seconds left and Hennessey's missed 3-pointer clinched an 88-86 overtime victory for host Simi Valley on Monday night.
The basket capped a frantic comeback by Simi Valley. Trailing 50-33 at halftime and 63-48 at the end of the fourth quarter, Simi Valley outscored Westlake 31-16 in the final period to force overtime, where Jackson sealed the victory with his layup that made the score 88-86.
Jackson was fouled on the play, but missed the free throw. Hennessey, however, just missed as time expired.
"We know all the teams in the league are going to come out and play their best game against us," said Jackson. "We can't have slow starts like we did tonight."
Simi Valley improved to 15-1, 4-0 in league, while Westlake dropped to 9-7, .
Simi Valley overcame a subpar first half in large part because of Jackson, who scored 25 of his 37 points after halftime.
The senior guard carried his team for large parts of the half — as Westlake's matchup zone frustrated fellow stars Mike Meza and Brad Lewis — penetrating off the dribble and getting to the foul line.
For good measure, Jackson nearly notched a triple-double by adding nine rebounds and eight assists.
Simi Valley needed all of it, because Westlake played a almost-flawless first half. Westlake was able to break Simi Valley's 2-2-1 zone press time and time again, leading to open 3-pointers for Adam Kolodney, who had five in the first half, and easy layups for Andreas Svennefiord.
Svennefiord, who finished with 27 points before fouling out, scored 19 in the first half on 9-of-10 shooting.
Kolodney added 19 in the first half as well, finishing the half by burying three 3-pointers in the final 3:37 to give Westlake all the momentum going into halftime.
"We played a perfect first half," said Westlake coach Tom Donohue. "We shot very well and we were creating turnovers out of our zone."
Westlake staved off a comeback before finally letting its lead slip away in the fourth quarter, as Simi Valley finally started to create turnovers as its press led to easy baskets.
"We played with a lot more intensity in the second half," said Jackson. "We had a lot more movement on offense and were putting a lot more pressure on them on defense."
"We knew they were going to make their run because they are a good team." said Donohue.
"We just started missing more of our shots and they started making more."
Meza and Lewis finally got going in the second half, finishing with 16 and 13 points respectively. Lewis hit a huge 3-pointer in overtime to make the score 81-78 with 3:37 to play, while Meza helped cool off Svennefiord in the second half.
Kolodney finished with 24 points for Westlake, while Kyle Olandt added 13 and Alec Hess had 11.
2008 Ventura County Star
Westlake High's T.J. Hennessey watched his 3-point attempt at the buzzer hit the back iron, carom a few feet in the air and then barely miss coming down into the basket.
The shot summed up Westlake's upset bid of Marmonte League boys' basketball powerhouse Simi Valley.
Oh, so close.
Lorne Jackson's go-ahead basket with 17 seconds left and Hennessey's missed 3-pointer clinched an 88-86 overtime victory for host Simi Valley on Monday night.
The basket capped a frantic comeback by Simi Valley. Trailing 50-33 at halftime and 63-48 at the end of the fourth quarter, Simi Valley outscored Westlake 31-16 in the final period to force overtime, where Jackson sealed the victory with his layup that made the score 88-86.
Jackson was fouled on the play, but missed the free throw. Hennessey, however, just missed as time expired.
"We know all the teams in the league are going to come out and play their best game against us," said Jackson. "We can't have slow starts like we did tonight."
Simi Valley improved to 15-1, 4-0 in league, while Westlake dropped to 9-7, .
Simi Valley overcame a subpar first half in large part because of Jackson, who scored 25 of his 37 points after halftime.
The senior guard carried his team for large parts of the half — as Westlake's matchup zone frustrated fellow stars Mike Meza and Brad Lewis — penetrating off the dribble and getting to the foul line.
For good measure, Jackson nearly notched a triple-double by adding nine rebounds and eight assists.
Simi Valley needed all of it, because Westlake played a almost-flawless first half. Westlake was able to break Simi Valley's 2-2-1 zone press time and time again, leading to open 3-pointers for Adam Kolodney, who had five in the first half, and easy layups for Andreas Svennefiord.
Svennefiord, who finished with 27 points before fouling out, scored 19 in the first half on 9-of-10 shooting.
Kolodney added 19 in the first half as well, finishing the half by burying three 3-pointers in the final 3:37 to give Westlake all the momentum going into halftime.
"We played a perfect first half," said Westlake coach Tom Donohue. "We shot very well and we were creating turnovers out of our zone."
Westlake staved off a comeback before finally letting its lead slip away in the fourth quarter, as Simi Valley finally started to create turnovers as its press led to easy baskets.
"We played with a lot more intensity in the second half," said Jackson. "We had a lot more movement on offense and were putting a lot more pressure on them on defense."
"We knew they were going to make their run because they are a good team." said Donohue.
"We just started missing more of our shots and they started making more."
Meza and Lewis finally got going in the second half, finishing with 16 and 13 points respectively. Lewis hit a huge 3-pointer in overtime to make the score 81-78 with 3:37 to play, while Meza helped cool off Svennefiord in the second half.
Kolodney finished with 24 points for Westlake, while Kyle Olandt added 13 and Alec Hess had 11.
2008 Ventura County Star
