BOYS’ BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Servite Clinches Playoff Berth in Overtime

Jamie Dunn made a 12-foot baseline jump shot with two seconds remaining in overtime to give Servite a 46-45 victory over Fountain Valley in a Sunset League playoff game Saturday at Edison High.

By winning, Servite earned the league’s final guaranteed berth in the Southern Section playoffs. The two teams had been tied for fourth place.

Servite (11-14, 7-8) will advance to the Division III-AA playoffs. Fountain Valley (12-13, 6-9) has applied for an at-large entry in Division I-AA and is expected to learn today whether it will be accepted.

Fountain Valley had taken a 45-44 lead with 28 seconds remaining, after guard Ara Petrosian made a three-point shot. Servite called a timeout with seven seconds left to set up Dunn’s final shot.

Afterward, Scott Hamilton, Servite’s first-year coach, talked about the progress his team had made this season. Only two months ago, the Friars were blown out by rival Mater Dei, 71-27, in the Tournament of Champions.

“All the credit should go to the kids,” Hamilton said. “Any group that could stick with me and work as hard as they did deserves to go to the playoffs.”

The teams played at 8 a.m. so that league officials could submit the losing team as an at-large candidate by the Southern Section’s deadline of 10 a.m. Saturday. Both teams had won their league finales only 10 hours earlier, setting up the playoff.