Kyle Fischer’s two free throws at the end of the game were the difference as Sunnyslope held on to beat Sierra Linda 58-57. 

Sierra Linda forward Ahmire Gaines finished the game with a game-high 22 points. Sunnyslope big man Chris Orozco finished the game with a team-high 17 points, with a bulk of them coming in the fourth quarter.

Sunnyslope (22-4 overall, 7-3 region) and Sierra Linda (15-11 overall, 5-3 region) both were playing their final game of the regular season. Sunnyslope found itself down at halftime and needed a spark to get going, which came in the form of Orozco. 

Orozco’s huge and-one tied the game up at 44 late in the fourth. Big shots from Bryson Mewhinney and Andrew Greb, who were honored pregame on Senior Night, also helped get Sunnyslope back on track to make it a close game.

Gaines hit two free throws, which put Sierra Linda up by one with 1.8 seconds to go.

The controversy came when the clock appeared to run out as Fischer was fouled on the inbound pass. The referees huddled for a minute or so and then told the game official to put .2 seconds back on the clock.

As the Sunnyslope side of the gym was cheering, the Sierra Linda side was steaming. Some mayhem then ensued as one fan was escorted out of the gym by police.  

With less than a second left in the game and down one, Sunnyslope's Fischer was fouled and made both free throws, sealing the deal for Sunnyslope.

“We just didn’t come back with enough plays at the end, you know," Sierra Linda coach Joshua Haagensen said. "Unfortunately, we ended up on the wrong side of scoreboard.”

Sunnyslope head coach Ray Portela seemed relieved at the outcome but wasn’t satisfied with the win.

“I’m happy we won, but we didn’t deserve to win," he said. The other team deserved to win. They played harder, and they were hungrier.”  

Added Orozco, “Our coaches have been telling us, we haven’t been working as hard at practice, which I totally agree.”

Both teams will probably have a game on Friday, as they have a couple days to cool off and get back to practice after the dramatic ending.

“We have a playoff game coming Friday," Portela said. "More than anything, we got to take a good look at ourselves. Right now we aren’t doing the things we need to do in order to be successful. We are a team with a lot of question marks.”