Clay ArrittThe Santa Ana Dons’ four-game skid continued as they suffered a controversial 65-62 overtime loss on Wednesday night to the Irvine Valley Lasers.
With a mere 0.3 seconds left on the clock, an inbound pass from guard Christien Jimenez to forward Joshua Garland was caught, and Garland immediately went up for a three-pointer.
The shot went in, and pandemonium ensued in Bill Cook Gymnasium; however, the referees quickly called off the shot and declared the game was over.
“I wish we had 0.4,” said head coach David Breig, “He made the shot, though.”
Santa Ana’s players and coaches were visibly disappointed as well as upset with the officials, believing that they should have had more time remaining on the clock for their final possession.
“I didn’t like the call. I feel like I made it in time,” said Garland. “But basketball is not just one possession, there are a lot of possessions that lead up to it.”
A lot of those possessions were filled with great defense, with Santa Ana shooting 36.4% from the field and Irvine Valley sitting at 40%. It was even tougher from three as the two squads combined for only three shots from deep on 36 combined attempts.
A layup from Jimenez tied the game at the end of regulation with 13 seconds to go, evening up the score at 53.
Jimenez racked up seven assists during the game, which is nothing new to him, as he came into this game third in the state and first in the league in that department.
This loss hurt the Dons, but the playoffs are still in sight as the season closes out.
“For the playoffs, we’re looking good,” said Coach Breig. “We’ve got to make sure we win on Friday.”
This Friday’s game against Cypress College will be the last one of the regular season, as they travel to play at 5 p.m.
