Fountain Valley boys’ basketball edged in overtime in CIF quarterfinals

Live by the three, die by the three.

That’s been Fountain Valley’s modus operandi all season, and it played out in glistening symmetry Tuesday night in a thrilling boys’ basketball CIF quarterfinal game.

A blizzard of three-point shots fueled a 20-point turnaround as Fountain Valley took command before halftime and built a double-digit second-half lead.

But when the shots stopped falling, visiting Heritage Christian roared back to force overtime, then sprinted to a 79-65 triumph to reach the third-tier Division 2AA final four.

Catalyst Aaron DeSantiago hit three three-pointers — two from way beyond the line — and scored 19 points to drive the 11th-ranked Barons’ mobile, dribble-and-pass attack, but he wasn’t around for the finish after suffering severe left-leg cramps 17 seconds into the extra period with the score tied at 59.

Third-seeded Heritage Christian (22-8) scored the next 10 points and hit all six free throws down the stretch to pull away, into a semifinal meeting Friday night at home against No. 7 St. Anthony.

Fountain Valley’s Aaron DeSantiago pulls up for a shot attempt during Tuesday’s game.

(Courtesy of Evan Cornell)

“I couldn’t be prouder,” first-year Fountain Valley head coach Josh Beaty said. “[Heritage is] so much bigger and stronger, but my kids were just incredible. I feel content because they couldn’t play harder.”

Troy Leach scored 17 points while grabbing a team-best eight rebounds, and Parker Rodriguez hit three three-pointers en route to 11 points. Devin Payne added 10 points, eight in the first half, but the Barons (18-13) couldn’t contend inside.

Junior Tae Simmons, a 6-foot-7 post getting Division 1 interest, was dominant inside for the winners, punctuating 30 points with four dunks and grabbing 13 rebounds. Freddie Crawford and Roman Fisher combined for 13 of 20 overtime points for Heritage Christian, which heads into its second semifinal in four seasons and is seeking its first title-game appearance.

“They’re just so big and strong and athletic, specifically Tae Simmons,” Beaty said. “ ‘Yeah, be physical, box out.’ You can say all that, but when the ball goes up and he’s, like, 80 pounds heavier and six inches taller than the guy trying to box him out, it’s like ... he just wore us down.”

The Barons’ forté is shooting from distance. Rodriguez, Leach and Payne hit successive triples in a 13-0 second-quarter spree to gain the lead, and DeSantiago added two more and Leach another as the Barons made 12 of 20 shots and seven of 10 3-pointers in the 11-minute run.

Fountain Valley guard Kenneth Nguyen calls out a play against Heritage Christian on Tuesday night.

(Courtesy of Evan Cornell)

The rest of the game, they were 12 of 40, including two of 17 from deep.

“That’s how we play,” Beaty said. “The highs and lows. We make shots and look really good, then sometimes we miss them.”

That’s what Heritage was counting on.

“We play the law of averages,” Warriors head coach Paul Tait said. “At some point, they were going to start missing a few. We had to tell the guys to believe, to stay in the fight, and they did a good job of pressuring, not losing hope, not beating one another up, and then finding a way to keep making shots for us.”

The lead hemmed and hawed the rest of the quarter, Heritage using an 8-2 run and a late basket and two free throws to pull within six, then Simmons took over. He scored seven points, including an and-one, to pull Heritage even at 52, then scored inside from Dillan Shaw’s feed after Risse restored the Barons’ advantage with 3:49 to play.

Rodriguez sank a three with 2:14 remaining for another Fountain Valley edge, but Fisher made it a one-point game with a 13-footer half a minute later, and Simmons turned an inside rebound into a three-point play for a 59-57 Warriors lead. DeSantiago scored from the baseline to tie it with 31 seconds on the clock, and Shaw’s three-point try at the buzzer missed to send the game to overtime.

Fountain Valley junior Troy Leach launches a shot during Tuesday night’s game.

(Courtesy of Tyler Josephson)

DeSantiago went down as Shaw — held by aggressive Barons defending to 11 points, 10 beneath his average — drew a foul from Risse driving the lane on the first overtime possession. He made just the first free throw, but Simmons rebounded the second and fed Crawford for a three-pointer.

“Huge, missing him,” Beaty said of DeSantiago’s cramping.

With DeSantiago on the bench, the Barons missed their next four shots, all threes. Heritage, in the bonus, made it 69-59 as Crawford and Fisher hit free throws. The hosts would get no closer than eight the rest of the way.

“It’s unfortunate I got hurt at the end of the game,” DeSantiago said. “Really sucked, man, not being out there at the end of the season. Really hurt. [But] I’m proud of our guys because we pushed through it. We gave everything we had.”

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CIF Southern Section Division 2AA Playoffs

Quarterfinal

Heritage Christian 79, Fountain Valley 65 (OT)

Heritage Christian 15-10-19-15-20 — 79

Fountain Valley 10-21-19-9-6 — 65

HC — Simmons 30, Fisher 18, Shaw 11, Crawford 10, Nance 6, Hall 4.

3-pt. goals — Fisher 2, Crawford 2, Shaw 1.

Fouled out — None.

Technicals — None.

FV — DeSantiago 19, Leach 17, Rodriguez 11, Payne 10, Risse 6, K. Nguyen 2.

3-pt. goals — DeSantiago 3, Rodriguez 3, Leach 2, Payne 1.

Fouled out — None.

Technicals — None.