University Loses Grip on Second

Same formula, different result.

Just like it did when the teams last met, the University High boys basketball team spotted Palisades a sizeable lead going into the fourth quarter, only this time the Wildcats were unable to overcome the deficit, losing on their home court Friday night in a battle for second place in the Western League.

University crept to within four points in the final three minutes but the Dolphins made six clutch free throws down the stretch and pulled away for a 75-65 victory that not only avenged an earlier one-point loss but clinched the runner-up spot in league and likely earned them a Top-5 seed in the City Section Division I playoffs.

"The problem with falling behind and winning is that you start to think you can do it every time," University head coach Steve Ackerman said. "You can't always get away with that, especially against a good team, and Palisades is a top four or five team in the City. They shot extremely well from the perimeter. They have a great system and they pose a lot of problems for us."

Donovan Johnson had made just two field goals in Palisades' 69-68 home defeat to the Wildcats on Jan. 26--a game in which the Dolphins squandered a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter. On Friday, Johnson had little trouble scoring as half of his 20 points came on fast-break layups. Everett Osborne also scored 20 points and Adam Griffin, who shot just 1 of 13 the first time, added 13 points and five assists.

The Dolphins converted 16 of their 23 free throw tries and their accuracy from the foul line paid dividends in the fourth quarter when University made a desperate comeback.

"We made our free throws this time, that was a big part of it," said Palisades head coach James Paleno, who had watched in frustration as his team missed 10 of 22 foul shots in Wednesday's three-point loss to Westchester. "This was finals week, Uni is a good team and were without two starters and a key reserve so all things considered I thought we responded pretty well."

Palisades (16-12 overall, 9-3 in league) raced to a 12-4 lead but a three-pointer by Kris Berry pulled the Wildcats to within 25-20 midway through the second quarter.

University star David Nwaba was held to eight points in the first two quarters and didn't make his first field goal until rattling in a fadeaway bank shot with 1:27 left in the first half.

"Energy is what made the difference tonight," Johnson said. "The whole team had that mindset and we picked it up defensively. They're not good ball handlers. We knew that from jump street and we were able to create a lot of turnovers."

Back-to-back jumpers by Nathan Nazarian and Osborne gave Palisades its biggest lead, 58-45, with 7:12 remaining and Ackerman called a timeout to regroup. The home team responded with a 7-2 run. Nwaba electrified the home crowd with a tw0-handed dunk that pulled the Wildcats (22-8, 7-4) to within 61-57 at the 2:45 mark.

Berry had 11 points while center Andrew May and forward Tony Sodnompunsum each added six points for University, a City Division II finalist three years running. Ackerman is confident his team will get a Top 3 seed in the Division II playoffs.

"We've got a number of good victories over Division I teams, including Palisades, Fairfax and Fremont," said Ackerman, whose team will have to settle for third place in the City's strongest league. "So that should work in our favor."

Nwaba led all scorers with 28 points,  but the Dolphins made him work hard for everything he got. Osborne sealed the deal when he stole Nwaba's inbounds pass underneath the Wildcats' basket and put in a reverse layup to give the Dolphins a 66-59 cushion. University never got closer than five points the rest of the way.

Paleno wouldn't speculate where his team would be seeded in Division I, but he thinks the Dolphins deserve to go ahead of champions from other leagues.

"Hopefully they'll respect our body of work," he said. "We played as tough a nonleague schedule as anyone and we have a very strong argument for fourth behind Taft, Westchester and Washington. But we'll play anybody, anytime. It doesn't matter."