The Hart boys’ basketball team began the Foothill League season 1-3 after the first four games. And with an automatic bid looking unlikely, that didn’t stop the Hawks from finishing out the league season 6-2, including a regular-season finale 64-53 win over the West Ranch Wildcats to clinch a playoff berth.
“It was kind of ugly to tell you the truth,” Hart head coach Tom Kelly said after the team’s win over West Ranch. “But I’ve always said I’d rather win ugly than lose. So, credit to the kids — they’ve battled through.”
Throughout the game, the Hawks and Wildcats swapped leads and were always within a few points of each other.
By the end of the third quarter, the Wildcats led the Hawks, 51-49, and look poised to come away with the home win largely due to freshman Brandon Cho’s performance, keeping West Ranch’s season alive.
Cho, who finished the night with 13 points, was shooting the ball well from beyond the arc as he tallied four 3-pointers in the game.
The freshman had to be taken out of the game due to an injury and sat for a majority of the fourth quarter while he was checked out by West Ranch High School’s athletic trainer.
Seeing the Wildcats’ leading scorer taken out of the game, the Hawks’ offense turned up the pressure and had a big fourth quarter.
With six minutes remaining in regulation, Hart’s Andrew Lange hit a timely 3-pointer as the Hawks took a 55-51 lead.
After the game, Lange said that the Hawks were motivated to finish the game strong and there was a common goal on the bench to not lose the game no matter what.
“I think we realized that we were tied, and that was a little too close to where we wanted it to be,” he said. “So, we just needed to keep it up and get the win.”
Lange ended the night with 25 points, leading all Hawks in scoring en route to the team’s big fourth quarter where they outscored West Ranch, 13-4.
“[Lange] got a lot of good looks,” he said. “The [game plan] was if that we moved the ball and get it back to him, he can make them as he’s such a good shooter.”
With the win, the Hawks finished the season with a 7-5 Foothill League record and claimed the fourth and final automatic playoff berth over West Ranch.
Despite the up and down season, Kelly said he’s looking forward to starting fresh in the playoffs.
“Everybody is 0-0, so it doesn’t matter where we go or who we play as long as we’re in and that’s all we care about,” he said.
The Wildcats finished the Foothill League season with a 6-6 record and below .500 overall.
With at-large bids going to teams that finish the regular season with an above .500 record, the Wildcats end the year 9-18 and out of consideration.
The playoff brackets for boys’ basketball are scheduled to be released on Saturday with the first round set to begin on Wednesday.
After Wednesday night’s games, here are scores from around the Foothill League:
Valencia 68, Golden Valley 63: The Valencia Vikings (17-11, 9-3) ended the regular season with a win on the road over the Golden Valley Grizzlies (20-8, 10-2).
The Grizzlies won the Foothill League title on Monday with a win over the Saugus Centurions and don’t fall from first place in the standings despite the loss.
Both teams will be in the playoffs and await the playoff brackets to be released on Saturday.
Canyon 90, Castaic 53: The Canyon Cowboys (14-13, 3-9) kept their at-large bid hopes alive with a win over the Castaic Coyotes (6-21, 0-12).
With the win, the Cowboys kept their overall record above .500 and can be awarded an at-large bid, but it is not guaranteed as that is decided by the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section’s governing board.
Photos below from Hart’s win over West Ranch:
