SOUTHWEST LETS ONE SLIP AWAY

Southwest blew a 7-point lead in the last 1:49 of play to drop a 42-40 decision to host Columbus. The Eagles (9-9, 7-6) struggled with their field goal shooting all night, making only 9 baskets in the game. Fortunately, the free throw shooting was better as Southwest hit 21 of 28 from the charity stripe. The Explorers (12-6, 9-2) led 7-6 after one quarter, 19-17 at the half, and 26-25 entering the final period. Gio Gonzalez hit Southwest's only field goal of the fourth quarter, a 3-pointer early in the period, then made 7 of 8 free throws to give the Eagles a 38-33 lead with 2:12 on the clock. Ray Lleonart hit two foul shots 33 seconds later to put Southwest up by seven. Columbus then went on a 9-0 run in the final 1:34, winning it on a jumper at the buzzer by Gary Bush. The Eagles turned the ball over repeatedly down the stretch. As is often the case, clueless officials had an effect on the outcome. Explorers' coach Butch Staiano picked up a technical foul with 4:32 left in the contest. According to rule 10-5-1, once a coach has been hit with a tech, he must remain seated except to call a timeout, request a player to call a timeout, confer at the scorers' able, remove an injured or disqualified player, or spontaneously react to an outstanding play. Staiano was out of his seat over a dozen times after his technical, including the entire final minute of the game. The first time it happened, he should have been given a second technical foul, ejected, and Southwest should have been awarded two free throws and possession. In the junior varsity game, one official signaled for the shot clock to be re-set after a kicked ball. Sorry to tell you Mr. Official, there is no shot clock in high school basketball.
The scoring:
Gonzalez 15
Juachon 10
Portales 7
Lleonart 6
Godoy 2