Riley, Aztecs deny ’Rabbits

BARSTOW — Knocking off the Desert Sky League’s top team and storming the floor is becoming a cliché at Don Bilsborough Gymnasium.

The Barstow boys basketball followed the lead of the girls team in winning a late-season upset on its home court Thursday night. The Aztecs beat Victor Valley 55-54 on Harold Riley’s tip-in as time expired to secure a playoff spot. Seedings will be announced on Sunday.

“Coming from Silver Valley and going to the second round of the playoffs last year, it would have hurt a lot (if we missed the playoffs),” Riley said. “It felt good just to hit that shot.”

The Barstow girls basketball team knocked off Silverado just a week earlier on Barstow’s home court.

While the Aztecs (8-16, 4-4 DSL) gained entrance into the postseason, the Jackrabbits’ (13-12, 6-2 DSL) loss combined with a Granite Hills 67-53 win against Silverado prevented Victor Valley from sharing their first league title since 1997 and claiming the No. 1 DSL playoff berth. The Cougars won their second DSL title in a row.

With 4.4 seconds to go, the ball was inbounded to Jamaar Embry, who was supposed to take the shot. Embry made his way inside the 3-point line and began to slip. He still managed to get the ball to Earl Jefferson underneath the basket with two Jackrabbits surrounding him.

Jefferson’s turnaround jumper bounced on the rim and hung in the air, before Riley jumped up and tipped the ball in for the game’s final points.

“In situations like that a lot of people are going to stare at the ball just like everyone in the building was staring at the ball,” Barstow coach Mark Hassell said. “I think he did a good job of coming over there and never giving up on the ball.”

As the ball finally went through the hoop, the Barstow bench and stands rushed the floor. Riley fell on the ground as pandemonium ensued and was accidentally hit in the mouth.

Although the Aztecs lost by 11 points in their first meeting with the Jackrabbits, Barstow hung with Victor Valley for almost the entire game. The Jackrabbits began on a 7-0 run, but never distanced themselves from the Aztecs again. The two teams were tied at 27 at halftime.

Barstow took an early 53-50 fourth-quarter lead with Jefferson, who finished with 24 points, hitting four shots. D’Shaun Holden put Victor Valley back in the lead when he scored back-to-back baskets on offensive rebounds with under a minute to play.

“I thought we made a nice run there late, but it’s a little too late,” Victor Valley coach Matt Denny said. “We had it where we wanted it. We just couldn’t finish the job.”

The Aztecs opened league play with a 1-4 record until an 84-80 nonleague loss to Serrano gave them a confidence boost, then they won three straight in league play.

“When we played Serrano here, it was basically just let it all hang out,” Hassell said. “We realized if we let it all hang out, when you’re not afraid to go out there and be really good then you’ve got a chance to do really well.

“The seeds were being built a couple weeks ago. We’ve just been fortunate enough to keep it going.”

VICTOR VALLEY (54)

Buchanan 12, Mayfield 12, McGee 11, Holden 8, Randle 7, Benavides 4.

BARSTOW (55)

E. Jefferson 24, Embry 11, Maes 11, Muir 4, A. Jefferson 3, Riley 2.

Victor Valley 13 14 17 10 — 54

Barstow 14 13 16 12 — 55

3-point field goals — Victor Valley 3 (Buchanan 2, Mayfield); Barstow 3 (Embry, Maes, A. Jefferson).

Matt Peters is the sports editor of the Desert Dispatch. He can be reached at matthew_peters@link.freedom.com or at 256-4124.