Golden Knights fall at the buzzer, 63-61

Hamlet Nalbandyan

The Loma Linda Academy boys’ basketball team had a 7-footer on its

roster, but John Jordan wasn’t too worried about that.

The St. Francis coach was more concerned with the Roadrunners’

back-court duo of Chris Purdom and Michael Conner -- two seniors who

are averaging nearly 40 points per game between them -- coming into

Tuesday’s nonleague game at St. Francis.

The Golden Knights didn’t hear much from Conner, but they saw

enough of Purdom, who hit a 10-foot runner as time expired to give

Loma Linda a 63-61 victory.

*--*

BOX SCORE

*--*

*--*

Loma Linda 22 22 9 10 -- 63

St. Francis 19 14 13 15 -- 61

*--*

*--*

LOMA LINDA

Purdom 27, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, De Leon 8 and 7 rebounds, Boone 6 and 7 rebounds, Aprecio 6 and 6 assists, Ja. Wilson 6, Love 6, Pope 2. Conner * Three-pointers: Purdom.

ST. FRANCIS

Johnson 21, Burton 19 and 5 assists, Pochow 8, Fleming 5, Peterson 4, Grimes 2 and 7 steals, Dietrich 2. * Three-pointers: Burton 3, Polchow 2, Johnson 2.

*--*

Purdom’s buzzer-beater spoiled a hard-fought comeback by the

Golden Knights (3-2), who trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half but were able to tie it with 30 seconds left on a

three-pointer by Chris Johnson.

“It was a good comeback by the kids, but that first half was just

too much for us to overcome,” Jordan said.

Loma Linda (4-2) scored 22 points in each of the first and second

quarters to lead by 11 going into halftime. Leading the way for the

Roadrunners’ fast-paced offense was Purdom, who scored 20 points in

the first half.

But the standout guard had just seven in the second half, as St.

Francis tightened up on defense, allowing just 19 points in the second half.

However, when it mattered most, the Golden Knights -- who forced

28 turnovers, 17 in the second half -- couldn’t stop Purdom from

getting an open look with the game on the line.

“He’s a very good player,” said Jordan of Purdom, who also

finished with nine rebounds and five assists. “We’re going to see

some very good guards [competing in the Mission League], but I think

he’s as good as anyone we’ll see.

“And he’s not the only good guard they have. Their shooting guard

[Conner] has a beautiful stroke, but we didn’t allow him to get it

going.”

Conner had just two points, thanks to the defense of Johnson, who

chased down the athletic guard the entire night.

Johnson also got it done on the offensive end, leading St. Francis

with 21 points.

But like teammate Scott Burton, who finished with 19 points,

Johnson struggled with his shot, making just eight of 21 from the

field. Burton was six of 24.

Defensively, St. Francis -- which was led by Dean Grimes’ seven

steals -- held Loma Linda’s Michael Boone, the aforementioned

7-footer, to just six points and seven rebounds.