Sports
Bernstein Stays in Hunt for League Title
William Mack's off-balance basket with three seconds left lifts the Dragons to a 55-51 victory that keeps them hot on Hollywood's tail in the Central League standings.
The playoffs have seemingly already begun for the Helen Bernstein High boys basketball, which must be virtually perfect for the rest of the regular season to have any shot at securing its first league title in school history.
Yet there were the Dragons, trailing late in the fourth quarter in their own gym against Torres, a team they had already beaten. After last week's memorable win over Hollywood, would a flat performance at the wrong time spoil their unlikely run?
William Mack made sure that wouldn't be the case. The junior forward's circus baseline basket with 3.1 seconds remaining was the finishing touch to another fourth-quarter comeback for Bernstein.
With the 55-51 victory Bernstein (14-8 overall, 8-2 in league) moved to within a half game of crosstown rival Hollywood (8-5, 8-1) with two games remaining for each team. The Sheiks meet winless USC-Mast on Friday at 2:30 p.m. while Bernstein will host Belmont (4-19, 3-5) next Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
"I'm proud of the kids because they came back in the second half, settled down and hit some shots," Bernstein head coach Chad Finch said. "In the first half, they couldn't hit water falling out of a boat. They had to battle."
Finch provided an apt description of an ugly first half of basketball by the Dragons, who shot poorly from the field, turned the ball over several times, and missed nine of their 12 foul shots.
Sophomore guard Xavier Jones was back in the lineup after missing Friday's win over USC-Mast with flu-like symptoms, but he struggled to get good looks at the basket all game. The same could be said for senior center Aaron Williams, who pulled down 11 of his 21 rebounds in the first half but rarely scored an easy basket.
A pretty alley-oop dunk by Williams on the feed from Jones late in the first quarter was perhaps the only highlight of the half.
"It was a tough day," said Williams, who scored 13 points playing on a tender right ankle he injured on a dunk Friday. "I wasn't feeling right and I couldn't get in the position I wanted."
Torres had a 23-21 halftime advantage and built its lead as high as 49-42 with three minutes to go in the game. But just as they had done against the Sheiks, the Dragons owned the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
Back-to-back baskets by senior power forward Chris Colato (11 points) and Williams cut the Toros advantage to three with 2:15 to go, and after a third-consecutive stop, Jones (13 points) drilled a three-pointer from the right corner to tie the game at 49 with 1:42 remaining.
Finch's decision to go to a man press in the fourth quarter paid off, as Torres struggled to set its offense. After another stop, Jones fed Mack for the go-ahead basket to make it 51-49.
Bernstein's foul-shooting woes proved costly again, however, as the Dragons missed a golden opportunity to ice the game by clanking four straight free throws. Torres forward Anthony Polanco was subsequently fouled, making both shots to tie the game at 51.
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That set the stage for Mack.
Bernstein took possession of the ball and ran 32 of the final 36 seconds off the clock on 12 passes around the perimeter, before getting the ball into their forward. Mack was fouled on the drive to the hoop, but not before tossing up an off-balance eight-footer that dropped in.
"I was trying to take it to the hole, but he got right in front of me," said Mack, who finished with eight points. "I just tried to draw contact and throw it up. It went in."
Torres had one chance left, but Polanco — with the six-foot-six Williams in his face — fired the baseline inbound pass off the backboard and out of bounds, ending any hopes of a comeback.
The Dragons have won four straight to keep the heat on Hollywood. They'll need help, but they're doing everything in their power to keep their feel-good season alive.
"It's a great feeling," the soft-spoken Mack said of his unlikely game-winner. "It nice to know I can do something good for this program."
