Matt’s Musings:

He sat at a chair at the very end of the bench, right leg taped up, watching his team’s shooting go cold in the fourth quarter and unable to do anything about it.

This wasn’t the way to end a brilliant four-year varsity career for Ocean View High senior Avery Johnson, who sprained his right ankle in Saturday’s 50-45 loss to Serra in a CIF Southern California Regional Division III semifinal at El Camino College.

“We lost our best player,” Ocean View Coach Jim Harris said of Johnson, who always seemed to be smiling on the court and was really his team’s heart and soul.

Johnson was hurt late in the first quarter. Yet Ocean View improbably outscored the host Cavaliers, 15-2, in the third quarter and led by as many as nine.

Yes, the Seahawks were tired at the end, and Serra took advantage. But nobody there Saturday will soon forget their gritty play, their passion, the teamwork they showed in pushing the top-seeded team to the brink.

I know I won’t. I’ve been covering prep sports for about a decade and that’s one of the best boys’ basketball games I’ve ever seen. The final score does the game no justice.

And the loss was hard to take. The Seahawks took a long time getting out of the locker room after this one.

Harris, the boys’ basketball coach at Ocean View since the school opened, was the first one out. He talked about how much more adversity the team had to deal with this year. Last year’s CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA champion went to the CIF State Division III championship game. This year, O.V. lost to Foothill in the Division III-AA final and the Seahawks’ season ended two games short of playing for the state title.

Those last two goals weren’t accomplished, yet the Seahawks showed so much Saturday against Serra. No one should have expected a Jim Harris team to roll over after losing Johnson, but his team did more than just keep playing. It went out swinging.

These seniors — including starters Johnson, Anthony Brown, Ryan Okwudibonye and Aaron Delgado — should feel proud of their legacy. Over the past two years, Ocean View went 56-13. The Seahawks really captured the imagination of their school, which may be part of the reason the O.V. cheering section was even louder than Serra’s on Saturday, even though the Seahawks faithful had to make the considerable trek up the 405 Freeway.

Okwudibonye was the one who got hot in the third quarter when the Seahawks made their run. Delgado, like he always is, was Mr. Hustle. He skyed ridiculously high in that quarter for an offensive rebound, leading to a three-pointer by the Stanford-bound Brown.

This two-year run has definitely been special. Even 2009 graduate Mason Jones, who spent this year red-shirting at Saddleback College, has been a constant presence on the sidelines.

“It’s been really fun, just being with the same group of guys,” Delgado said. “[Jones] is not on the court, but he’s still with us.”

And even though they lost Saturday night, the memory of what they did should stay with these Seahawks as well.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or at matthew.szabo@latimes.com.