OT is OK for OCC

Tony Altobelli

“I’m getting gray hairs by the minute.”

Santa Claus? No. Bill Clinton? Maybe.

However, the correct owner of this quote belongs to Orange Coast College

men’s basketball coach Mark Hill, following his team’s (ho-hum) overtime

win over Southwestern College Saturday night, 81-72.

I say ho-hum because for the Pirates, a nine-point overtime is a blowout

in their little world.

Look for yourself. OCC hoops makes this year’s Ryder Cup comeback look

about as dramatic as a Golden West-Palomar football game.

MIRACLE I, vs. San Diego Mesa, Nov. 17 - Hill should have realized

what kind of year it was going to be after the season opener against San

Diego Mesa. Down, 47-33, in the second half, the Pirates went crazy and

outscored Mesa, 33-9, down the stretch for a 10-point “blowout.”

MIRACLE II, vs. El Camino, Nov. 24 - Not to settle for one

heart-stopper, the Bucs trailed ECC by as many as 18 in the second half

and seven with only a minute remaining. Chad Hagedorn’s three-point

buzzer-beater in the corner sent the game into overtime, where OCC

prevailed, 108-105.

MIRACLE III, vs. Imperial Valley, Dec. 3 - This was just a “mild”

heartstopper on Bucs’ anxiety scale. Castleton’s free throw with nine

seconds remaining in overtime proved to be the winner for the Bucs,

82-81, a low-scoring, pitcher’s duel by OCC’s standards.

MIRACLE IV, at Cuyamaca, Dec. 7 - Even better; on the road for this

one. OCC trailed by 16 points with eight minutes remaining in the game,

before the OCC kick-start began. David Castleton was the hero in this

one, hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer, sending OCC into another

overtime tilt, which they won, 108-101. Where’s the Rogaine?

MIRACLE V - at Southwestern, Saturday night - The Pirates, looking to

play the leading role in upcoming film “Hoosiers II” trailed by 14 points

early in the second half when, you guessed it, they came back to tie the

game. From there Dave Elliott, who has played some of his best basketball

in overtime, scored seven of his 18 points in the extra period as OCC

ripped off the first nine OT points for the 81-72 win.

Five comeback wins; 4-0 in overtime; 3-0, including two OT wins in San

Diego. Even the Clippers didn’t have two overtime wins when they were a

franchise down there.

All Hill wants for Christmas: a 35-point win. Now Hill knows how

women’s coach Mike Thornton stays so youthful looking. None of that

come-from-behind, nail-biting, overtime stuff.

Elsewhere....

Former OCC women’s hoops standout, Jen Ludwicki is averaging 11 points

and five rebounds a game for the University of New Orleans.

In her last game against Elon College, Ludwicki scored 14 points and

grabbed seven rebounds in the Privateers’ 83-62 loss.

Ludwicki is second on the team in points per game and her rebounding

average is tied for the top mark on the team.

As a Pirate, Ludwicki set the single-season school scoring record with

a 23.6 average in 1997-98.

Former Newport Harbor High field hockey standout, Kerstin Manderson is

continuing her education at Gordon College in Wenham Mass. where she has

led the Fighting Scots to a 12-7 record and a trip to the Commonwealth

Coast Conference finals.

Manderson, a freshman pre-med major, was the Sailors’ MVP last year.