Great Oak boys basketball team outlasts Temecula Valley in overtime – Press Enterprise

TEMECULA — Great Oak’s Dario Johnson scored 24 of his season-high 34 points after halftime – including six of eight free throws in overtime – to propel the Wolfpack past Temecula Valley 74-66 in a Southwestern League boys basketball battle Thursday.

Johnson, a 6-foot-3 senior, ignited a passive Wolfpack offense that struggled in the second quarter and allowed the Golden Bears to hold a 51-43 lead after three periods. Johnson tossed in 10 points in the third quarter and kept a hot hand in the fourth quarter, pulling Great Oak even at 59-59 with 1:18 to play with a 12-foot jumper.

Miles Costello’s layup put Temecula Valley back in front 61-59 with 41 seconds to play, but Jaxon Allensworth answered with his own layup in the closing seconds to knot the game at the buzzer.

In overtime, the Wolfpack bolted on a 6-2 run with Johnson taking command, driving to the hoop and drawing fouls on Great Oak’s first two possessions. Temecula Valley closed to 69-66 with 48.9 seconds remaining, but Allensworth sank five of six free throws in the final seconds to secure the victory and snap the Wolfpack’s two-game losing skid.

“Every game is a fight, and you have to play like it’s your last,” Johnson said.

Kindal Patton scored 13 points and Allensworth had 22 points for Great Oak (13-10), which improved to 3-2 in league play. The Wolfpack visit Vista Murrieta on Tuesday.

Wolfpack coach Robert Hickey went with a little more size in the second half, with Hudson Hoopingarner adding a physical presence on defense.

“In the first half we were maybe a little too much Xs and Os-ish rather than getting out there and playing hard,” Hickey said.

Johnson said the adjustments unlocked the offense.

“We had two tough losses the past two games. So we got back together as a team, and got back to what we had to do – our standards,” he said. “We came out with energy. We were working on defense, and that can fuel our offense. We had to get back on defense, try to slow them down.”

“We were attacking the rim and scoring in the second half, so they couldn’t get out in transition and run,” Hickey said, “And then when we scored the ball, it fueled our defense. We were way more aggressive.”

The Wolfpack held Costello, who came into the game averaging 22 points per contest, to 15 points. Liam Hodgkinson had 22 points to lead Temecula Valley.

“Hats off to them; they had an outstanding game plan. Coach Hickey always has his guys prepared, especially when they play us,” Temecula Valley coach James Profit said. “But I think we did some things that cost us, caused us to self-implode. Costly turnovers in the third quarter, possessions where we took a play off and gave them a second or third opportunity.

“We’re going through the growing pains, and we’ll learn how to we need to get our certain guys the ball,” Profit said. “Even though we run a lot and like to shoot the ball quick, sometimes you have to buckle down and say, ‘We have to get the ball to this guy, right now.’”

Temecula Valley (17-6), which had won six of its last seven contests heading into Thursday’s game, slips to 3-2 in the tight Southwestern League race. The Golden Bears will travel to Chaparral on Tuesday, looking to avenge a 102-92 loss to the Pumas suffered Jan. 8.