Top-seeded Central Catholic needs OT to beat Ripon in D-IV boys basketball thriller

Central Catholic’s Amrit Dhaliwal launched about 500 jump shots less than 24 hours before Friday night’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV boys basketball quarterfinal against Ripon.

The junior guard found an open gym and, with teammate Josh Hamilton, spent nearly three hours working on his shot – this after the Raiders’ two-hour practice. The extra work paid off as Dhaliwal hit a three-pointer with 36 seconds remaining to force overtime and help top-seeded Central Catholic hold off No. 8 Ripon 64-59.

“We worked for two to three hours on pull-up jumpers and threes,” said Dhaliwal, who finished with 18 points. “Our assistant coach was telling us, ‘(Practicing) threes is going to be big.’ He was right.”

With the score knotted at 51, Ripon point guard Aaron Paschini (23 points) nailed a three-pointer with less than a minute to play to put the Indians in charge.

Central Catholic’s Jared Rice (20 points) missed a three-pointer with about 42 seconds left, but Malcolm Clayton grabbed a key offensive rebound. He kicked the ball to Dhaliwal, who fired from the left wing. The ball did a shimmy between the iron, bounced out of the cylinder after being mostly in, then bounced one more time on the back of the rim before falling through for three points.

“I thought I had it right when it let go of my hands,” Dhaliwal said. “But when I saw the in and out, I got a little scared.”

With the score again tied, Ripon called timeout with 28.6 seconds to play, setting up for the final shot of regulation.

Kole Gonzales inbounded the ball to Paschini, who patiently held the ball before driving down the left side of the lane with about 10 seconds to play. Peter Hamilton, the Raiders’ 6-foot-7 senior, cut off Paschini’s lane to the basket, forcing him to dish to Andrew Wood (13 points) in the corner. Wood had a decent look from about 18 feet, but his shot was long, and the ball went out of bounds to Central Catholic.

In overtime, Rice snapped a 56-56 tie with a bucket down low, followed by another from Peter Hamilton, who then drew a charge on Paschini on the Indians’ next possession.

Down the stretch, the Raiders hit their free throws to put it away.

“I told the seniors, ‘It sucks to lose, but this is a game to go out on,’ ” said Ripon coach Rod Wright, whose team finished 23-6 and really was living on borrowed time after beating Union Mine 68-66 on Cole Stevens’ half-court buzzer beater Wednesday. “They played so hard; I can’t be disappointed. It was a great season.”

Central Catholic (23-5), advances to face No. 5 Summerville (23-6), a 59-39 winner over No. 13 San Juan of Citrus Heights. And, by virtue of reaching the semifinal round, the Raiders are guaranteed a berth in the Northern California Regional tournament.

This story was originally published February 27, 2016 at 12:05 AM with the headline "Top-seeded Central Catholic needs OT to beat Ripon in D-IV boys basketball thriller."