Last-second basket gives Santa Margarita basketball a win over JSerra

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – When JSerra guard Jaiden Bailes made a 3-pointer with five seconds remaining to tie the boys basketball game against Santa Margarita, most people in the gym must have been expecting overtime.

Santa Margarita’s Rodney Westmoreland was not one of those people.

Westmoreland took the inbounds pass from teammate Brayden Kyman, raced down court and fired up a leaning 22-foot shot that banked in at the buzzer to give Santa Margarita a 70-67 win in the Trinity League game at JSerra High.

When asked afterward if he intended for it to be a bank shot, Westmoreland smiled and said: “The banks are open.”

Santa Margarita, No. 1 in the Orange County Top 25, is 21-3 overall and 1-1 in the Trinity League.

The Eagles needed the win after losing to St. John Bosco in double overtime, 74-73, in a Trinity League game last Friday at Santa Margarita.

JSerra, No. 3 in the county rankings, is 14-9 overall and 1-1 in league. The Lions beat Orange Lutheran, 80-66, in their other league game.

Santa Margarita coach Justin Bell said it was basketball justice that Westmoreland’s shot went in.

“All he cares about is the team,” Bell said. “That’s why it went in.”

Westmoreland said that when Bailes made the game-tying 3-pointer, he was motivated to respond.

“He (Bailes) made a good shot at the end,” Westmoreland said. “We didn’t give up, I ran down, BK (Kyman) hit me, and I saw the rim, shot it and made it.”

Oregon State-signed 6-8 senior forward Drew Anderson scored a game-high 23 points for Santa Margarita. He made three 3-point shots and had seven rebounds.

Jacob Sears scored 13 points and Kyman, a Washington State signee, scored 11 for the Eagles. Both made three 3-point baskets.

Westmoreland, a 6-foot senior, scored 10 points, all in the fourth quarter.

Bailes, who was at St. Augustine last season, led JSerra with 20 points. Earl Bryson, a junior, scored 15 points for the Lions.

JSerra sophomore Ryan Doane scored 13 points with seven rebounds. Bryson also did outstanding defensive work on Santa Margarita’s Kaiden Bailey, holding the All-County Bailey to nine points.

Bailey, who signed with Georgia Tech, did have five assists.

JSerra had the lead for most of the game. The Lions were ahead 16-10 at the end of the first quarter. They had their biggest lead of 14 points, 27-13, in the second quarter and took a 37-33 advantage into halftime.

The Eagles passed JSerra in the third quarter and carried a 52-47 lead into the fourth.

Two free throws by Bailey nudged the Santa Margarita lead to 67-64 with 23 seconds remaining. Then came Bailes’ 3-point jumper – his release point is extraordinarily high on deep shots  for a high school player – and then Westmoreland’s dribble-sprint for his winning bank shot.

Both teams played stout defense, aggressive but clean. Open shots were hard to come by.

JSerra’s next game is against Redondo Union on Saturday at 7:30 p.m., part of an all-day showcase at North Torrance High. Redondo Union is No. 4 in the computer-generated CIF Southern Section rankings that have Santa Margarita at No. 3 and JSerra at No. 12.

Santa Margarita’s next game is a league game Wednesday at Servite.