Burroughs Outlasts Hart, 88-79 : Ejections and Fouls Mar Heated Foothill League Showdown

Two players were ejected and 4 fouled out Tuesday night as Hart High and Burroughs scratched and clawed their way toward the Foothill League summit.

Elbows were thrown, shirts grabbed and words exchanged in a frenzied fourth quarter as the Indians from Burroughs (12-5, 4-0 in league play) held off the Indians from Hart, 88-79, at Burroughs to grab sole possession of first place and the inside track for their first league championship since 1968.

“It’s been so long since we’ve been off to a 4-0 start,” said Burroughs’ Dan Murphy, who scored 31 points.

Murphy’s 13 second-quarter points gave Burroughs a 45-37 halftime lead. The senior forward also was a cool and collective 6 of 6 from the free-throw line during the final-period pandemonium.

Have your score books ready?

Burroughs forward Tom Clemons was ejected with 3 minutes to play after being called for a flagrant foul against Hart’s Chad Fotheringham. Two minutes later, Fotheringham was ejected after a scuffle with Marnie Calderon.

Hart’s Brett Wilson (team-high 31 points) and Craig Gorski, and Burroughs’ John Yim and Al Podrasky all fouled out.

And through it all, the officials still had the breath to whistle Fotheringham and Hart Coach Greg Herrick for technical fouls.

“It’s Hart and Burroughs,” Burroughs Coach Ira Sollod said. “They’re always kind of at each other’s throats.”

Said Murphy: “It kind of got out of hand. We don’t like anyone trying to push us around. They tried to intimidate us.”

It almost worked. Hart (9-8, 3-1) fell behind, 9-1, in the first quarter and spent the rest of the game trying to get even. After a quarter, Burroughs led, 23-15, and appeared to have the game iced after Murphy’s second-quarter performance.

But Wilson scored 7 unanswered points to open the second half. Hart cut the gap to 1 point 4 times before Wilson’s 3-point play with 4:26 remaining knotted the score, 69-69.

Hart, however, never led and made only 4 of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Burroughs made 15 of 19 free throws in the final quarter. Calderon, who buried 4 3-point baskets--for a season total of 33--and finished with 19 points, scored 7 fourth-quarter points to check Wilson’s 9-point effort.

“We didn’t make our free throws and we turned the ball over,” Herrick said. “That’s the story of the game. I don’t need to say anymore.”