Lightning miss golden opportunity

NEWPORT COAST — None of the Sage Hill School players needed to hear the team’s free-throw percentage.

Coach Jeff Beeler brought it up anyway. The Lightning missed their share of free throws, converting only 33.3%. In a boys’ basketball game at home against rival St. Margaret’s, the Lightning understood nothing would be free.

The closest things to free Tuesday night were those free throws.

Eighteen times the Lightning shot free throws. They missed twelve, costing them a golden opportunity to finally beat St. Margaret’s.

The Tartans won the first Academy League showdown between the two schools, 59-53, by making free throws down the stretch.

If Sage Hill makes half of its misses, the score is even at the end. An extra period might be in store to determine the outcome. Now Sage Hill (5-14, 1-3 in league) has two days to correct its woes from the charity stripe.

“We’re shooting at home. We should shoot better than that,” Beeler said. “I’ve got guys that have been here their four years and have never beat [St. Margaret’s]. Their older brothers never beat St. Margaret’s. I thought this year they had a good chance.”

Everything appeared in the Lightning’s favor against the defending league champion. St. Margaret’s 15-game league winning streak dating back to the 2005-06 season ended when it opened league last week.

The Tartans (11-6, 3-1) didn’t look as invincible after losing to Brethren Christian, 52-51. They were without one of their big men, 6-foot-6 Ryan Limb, and came out sluggish, almost recording more fouls than points in the opening quarter, where they scored nine and committed seven fouls.

Sage Hill went into halftime up, 25-20, with forward Preston Oklejas and point guard Nick Witte combining for nine points late.

But to St. Margaret’s it signaled an end to 16 minutes of horrid basketball. The Tartans dismissed the six for 26 from the field, six for 15 from the free-throw line and two for 12 from behind the three-point line.

They found themselves ahead for good with 5 minutes, 5 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Point guard Tyler Stowers, who missed each of his seven field goal attempts in the previous quarter, drove into the lane for two, giving St. Margaret’s a 48-47 lead.

Even though Stowers, who finished with 14 points, struggled in the third, he made it possible for the Tartans to keep it close. With two players trying to defend the 6-foot-3 senior, it opened opportunities for guard John Schafer. And he buried Sage Hill, hitting four three-pointers in the third.

“We couldn’t keep No. 11 off those three-pointers,” said Beeler of Schafer, who scored 13. “We called a timeout to talk about No. 11, specifically to talk about his three-point shot. He got two after that and then the four-point play hurt.”

Despite Schafer’s hot stroke, Sage Hill trailed, 56-53, when Oklejas scored off an offensive rebound with 1:07 remaining in the game. Oklejas finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks off the bench.

But instead of pressuring St. Margaret’s, the Lightning stuck to their zone defense, taking away valuable time off the clock. Then with the 30-second shot clock winding down, St. Margaret’s Hunter Steffien was fouled near the baseline. With 35.1 seconds, Steffien hit both attempts from the line, where he was five for five in the fourth, making him the lone player on the court who made each of his free-throw attempts.

Sage Hill guard Jamie McGee, the league’s leading scorer the last two years, couldn’t believe it.

“The more and more we lose [to St. Margaret’s], the more it hurts,” said McGee, who led the Lightning with 14 points. “It is [disappointing], but we got to look at tomorrow. We play St. Margaret’s another time. The free throws hurt us a lot. We lost by [six]. Do the math.”

Academy League

St. Margaret’s 59, Sage Hill 53

SCORE BY QUARTERS

St. – Stowers 14, Morrison 14, Schafer 13, Wang 8, Steffien 7, Frost 2, Vlautin 1 .

3-pt. goals – Schafer 4, Morrison 2, Stowers 1.

Home – McGee 14, Oklejas 10, Duncan 9, Witte 8, Melvin 5, Astorino 4, Rose 3.

3-pt. goals – Duncan 1.

Fouled out – Astorino 1, Oklejas 1.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com.