ORANGE COUNTY PREP BASKETBALL : Century League : After Controversial Call, Foothill Wins on 50-Foot Shot, 40-38

Foothill High School guard Dave Rasmussen picked the wrong spot to launch the 50-foot shot at the buzzer that gave the Knights a 40-38 victory over Santa Ana in a Century League boys’ basketball game at Foothill.

Rasmussen was just behind the half-court line and right in front of the Saint bench when he tossed an off-balance shot that caromed off the backboard and in. Knight players and fans stormed Rasmussen after the basket, and the pileup carried over into the Santa Ana bench.

Mistake. The Saints, still fuming over an official’s call that had nullified Eric Turner’s apparent, game-winning jump shot with three seconds left, erupted.

A fight broke out and several players and fans were swinging wildly amid the mob. A riot appeared possible, but fortunately, several parents and administrators from both schools were able to separate the teams before anyone was hurt.

“That was close--that could have been a mess,” said Rich Lincourt, the Foothill vice principal who was instrumental in breaking up the brawl. “No. 42 (Santa Ana center Bobby Joyce) just wanted to hit somebody. He thought about hitting me, but that was it. He just thought about it.”

Joyce and his teammates had reason to be upset. Just moments earlier, they were celebrating Turner’s jumper from inside the free-throw line with three seconds left. The clock ran out, and Santa Ana appeared to have a 40-38 win.

But one official ruled that Turner was in the key for more than three seconds before he took the shot. He called the lane violation, took away the basket and gave Foothill the ball.

Rasmussen, who came off the bench to score six points, took the inbound pass, dribbled toward the right side and made the miracle shot. The Knights (7-0 in league, 15-3 overall) took over sole possession of first place, while the Saints (6-1, 13-5) dropped to second.

Santa Ana’s Greg Coombs thought Turner took his shot well before three seconds elapsed, and Foothill’s Jim Reames swore he was in the key too long.

One thing about the call doesn’t make sense. There were three seconds left when Turner’s shot went through the basket. After nullifying the shot, the officials put two seconds on the clock and gave Foothill the ball.

That means, according to the officials, that the infraction occurred after the shot went in.

“I don’t think the official knew what he called,” Coombs said. “Within three seconds, our kids went from having the biggest victory of some of their lives to this. It’s a shame we had to lose.”

Joyce scored 15 points and Turner finished with 12 to lead the Saints. Foothill relied on the outside shooting of Derek Johnson. He scored 16 points, including two jumpers in the final 2:45 that tied the game on two occasions. Alan Schlines added 9 points for the Knights.