Déjà vu as Sacred Heart Prep realizes state championship destiny

Osterloh once again stepped to the free-throw line with less than a second to play amid a 45-all tie to deliver SHP (21-11) to a 47-45 victory over San Juan Hills-San Juan Capistrano, marking the program’s first-ever state title with yet another improbable comeback in a season of improbable comebacks.

“I couldn’t be more proud of this group,” SHP head coach Jeff Wulbrun said. “I don’t know how long ago, but at one time we were sitting with a 10-11 record, losers of three straight, and somehow, someway, this team found a way to reel off 11 straight wins; eight straight playoff games; seven do-or-die games. All the credit goes to these guys for just staying together and just getting better.”

Osterloh scored six of his team-high 15 points in the fourth quarter, including four big free throws. After San Juan Hills (21-15) built its first lead of the game to 45-41 on a Kellen Owens put-back with two minutes to play, Osterloh went to work.

The 6-2 point guard fired back when junior post Alberto De Bernardis grabbed a monster offensive rebound to give him a reprieve off a missed 3-point try. Osterloh took advantage, receiving the pass up top and driving through three defenders to lay it up with a fingertip roll. Osterloh then got the ball back with a midcourt steal and was fouled at the rim with 1:15 to play, converting both free throws to tie it 45-45.

The swarming SHP defense forced 19 turnovers by the Stallions throughout, and the last one cued up Osterloh for the biggest trip to the line of his life. San Juan Hills had a chance to play for the last shot, with a 0.8-second difference between the game clock and the shot clock. But with Osterloh manning the Stallions’ point guard, and De Bernardis closing the lane behind him, sophomore guard Pat Bala stepped in to strip the ball loose for turnover No. 19 with 12.3 seconds to go.

“Proud of the team defense,” Wulbrun said. “We were flying around today. We were playing with purpose. We had great defensive intent. Great defensive mindset. To create 19 turnovers, you’re doing something right on that end of the floor.”

SHP pushed the ball up the court to call a timeout with 9.3 seconds, and gain a front-court inbound. That’s when the Gators’ spread offense — that seemed to take the entire game to find a crack in the San Juan Hills defense — paid off, with Osterloh seeing a last-second 3-point try, only to get hammered by Owens at the top of the key.

“I kind of shriveled up because I shot it, and I saw him coming, and I was like: ‘Oh my gosh, he’s going to knock me over,’” Osterloh said. “I shot it and then actually protected myself. So, I’m pretty sure I was fouled.”

In the midst of the déjà vu moment, Osterloh sat on the home court of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings shaking his fists in excitement. It was a hapless sight on the opposite side of the court, as Owens held up his hands in frustration.

“To have it decided that way, it’s beyond brutal,” San Juan Hills head coach Jason Efstathiou said.

It’s a moment Nor Cal runner-up Half Moon Bay can relate to all to well, as Tuesday’s regional final saw an eerily similar finish. Tuesday night at McGanney Sports Center, it was HMB senior Gio Garduno-Martin who was charged with a foul with 0.7 seconds remaining to send Osterloh to the line.

Once agains, SHP’s Mr. Clutch did not miss, drilling the first two, cool as ice, to cap the Gators’ 6-0 run to finish the game — this time to sew up the state crown.

“We’ve been in this situation probably 10 times this year,” Osterloh said. “The Nor Cal championship was the exact same thing. It’s just trained us — calm and just stay composed the whole time.”

Osterloh’s strong finish from the stripe salvaged an atrocious shooting performance for the Gators, who, in addition to hitting just 9 fo 15 free throws, finished 30.4% from the field, including 4 of 27 from long range.

“We had the right guys shooting them, and I thought they were good shots,” Wulbrun said. “They didn’t go in. Maybe just one moment in the game I said: ‘Let’s not settle. Let’s attack them in the paint. Let’s not forget, our 3s need to come inside out.’ And I thought we did that.”

The Gators came out fast enough.

Osterloh won the opening tipoff and quickly earned an assist with a sling pass to his younger brother, sophomore Matthew Osterloh. for a first-strike layup. Things turned sour for the elder Osterloh in a hurry though, as he picked up his second foul with 2:16 to go in the first, with SHP clinging to a 10-8 lead. Osterloh sat for the next 10 minutes, but the Gators responded with a 9-0 run, thanks largely to Osterloh’s understudy, senior Saurav Shroff, who came off the bench to pull an offensive rebound for a put-back and followed with a transition score off a steal.

“Saurav has been a great contributor to us during this stretch run,” Wulbrun said. “He’s earned a role, and he came up big time today and gave us great minutes, as he has during the stretch run.”

Brady Grossman and Bala then connected for back-to-back 3s to bump the lead to 22-10, SHP’s biggest of the game. Osterloh reentered for the final play of the first half, and turned in an instant replay of SHP’s first bucket of the day, hitting Matthew Osterloh was a slingshot assist pass for a layup, sending the Gators into the locker room leading 24-17.

But the Stallions answered back in the second half, catching SHP with 2:06 to go in the third quarter when 6-8 senior Oliver Sandor powered to the hoop while drawing a foul on a layup to deadlock it 32-all. Sandor missed the chance to give his team the lead with the and-1 attempt, but the Stallions would tip the scales on the scoreboard soon enough.

It was senior forward Garrett Brehmer’s corner 3 to start the fourth that swung San Juan Hills ahead 43-41. Suddenly it was the Stallions who were sensing déjà vu, after their comeback int he Southern California Division IV regional championship game, when they trailed 54-49 to Tulare Union heading into the fourth quarter only to close on a 25-12 run to win it 74-66.

“They do an awesome job all the time,” Efstathiou said. “This team, we don’t panic, we keep our composure. We’ve been in situations where we’ve come back from like 16, 17 down.”

Brehmer finished with a game-high 17 points, but it was Osterloh who ruled the court in the second half. The senior scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, including seven in the third, accounting for all of SHP’s field goals in the quarter save two layups by Bala, who finished with 13 points throughout.

SHP won the boards 35-30, with De Bernardis sharing the game-high of eight rebounds with San Juan Hills senior Rocco Jensen. Five of De Bernardis’ boards were on the offensive glass, including a monumental one on Osterloh’s missed 3 in the final two minutes to give SHP’s hot hand a second chance that started the Gators’ late march.

“In those moments, all the instincts I think are at the highest levels possible,” De Bernardis said. “I just did what I thought was right, and it ended up being the right decision.”

It was a cruel irony for San Juan Hills that a game exemplified by aggressive and effective defense on both sides was decided by a foul. But a clear foul it was, drawn by the guy who was destined to shoot the Gators into the history books.

“We wanted Alex to do what he does best,” Wulbrun said. “Which, they played great defense. They kind of sealed the paint up for us. We wanted to attack. In that situation, you want to attack and put the pressure on the defense. ... But we moved the ball well, and when it got to Alex, he made the decision and drew the foul.”