By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Three-year-old Antelope High School isn't waiting to establish its athletic reputation.
The Titans won the Capital Athletic League football title in the fall, and the boys basketball team may have done them one better late Tuesday night by rallying to upset top-seeded Woodcreek 62-61.
Jarvis Watkins' driving layup with 8.4 seconds gave the fourth-seeded Titans (25-5) the win in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II semifinals at Power Balance Pavilion. The school with its first senior class will play St. Mary's of Stockton in Saturday's 4:30 p.m. championship game at Power Balance.
Seventh-seeded St. Mary's beat Antelope's CAL rivals, Cordova, in Thursday's early semifinal.
"As a new school we had a plan last year," Antelope coach Rob Richards said. "We knew we would take our lumps (9-18) last year. But we knew if the players bought in, we would be OK. They have worked so hard."
Woodcreek's Luke Summers put his team up 61-60 on a tip-in of a Tyler Milani miss with 57 seconds left in the game. Woodcreek (25-5) star Devin Murphy then had a chance to lengthen the lead with 21.7 seconds, but missed the front end of a one and one.
Watkins, a 6-foot-2 junior, didn't waste any time firing up the large and already frenzied Red Zone rooting section.
He dribbled straight into the heart of Woodcreek's defense to score, also drawing a foul. He missed the free throw, but teammate Isaiah Ellis rebounded. His shot was blocked by Summers and Woodcreek recovered with 3.7 seconds.
After a Woodcreek timeout, Milani's heave from midcourt hit the front of the rim.
Antelope had blanketed Murphy, the Timberwolves' star, on the play. The 5-11 guard had scored 19 points and had a game-high 17 rebounds.
"Devin Murphy is such a great player that we wanted somebody other than No. 5 to take that shot," Richards said. "Woodcreek, that's a great team."
Antelope showed its resilience by coming back several times against the defending D-II section champs.
The Titans trailed 11-0 at the start and 23-8 after the first quarter. They stormed back to go ahead 30-28 on a John Winters tip-in at the halftime buzzer, then fell behind by eight when Woodcreek opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run.
"We were down 19 in the third quarter against Whitney (in league) and won," Richards said. "Our guys just don't quit."
Woodcreek had trouble containing the quicker Titans, who feasted on a number of athletic drives to the basket. They closed to one, 49-48, on a Kendall Martin 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter, then the fourth quarter became a battle of wills.
Watkins led Antelope with 20 points and Winters and Kei'shaun Sinclair each added 13 for the Titans while Ellis, a sophomore, had a team-high 11 rebounds.
Woodcreeks's John Peska led all scorers with 23 points, but missed his last seven shots. Summers, a 6-5 reserve post starting in place of injured Sam Anderson, added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Summers, who scored Woodcreek's last five points, played well, but Woodcreek missed the 6-7 Anderson, who tore knee ligaments in an earlier playoff game.
Woodcreek's season is not over. The Timberwolves will advance to the CIF Northern California Regionals, either Monday or Tuesday. They will learn on Sunday who they will play.
