Panthers rally from 19 down to KO Foothill

Adam Candee

Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2003 | 9:56 a.m.

No lectures given. No walls pounded. No glares cast.

With his lethargic Panthers trailing Foothill by 14 points at halftime, Palo Verde coach Phil Clarke saw no need for any of those worn theatrics.

"They embarrassed themselves," Clarke said. "I didn't think they needed to be yelled at."

Clarke referenced the right chapter of the motivation handbook on this night. Lendor Coney hit a left-handed layup with 2.3 seconds to play, as Palo Verde scored the final 10 points of the game to stun the Falcons, 66-64, Monday night at Foothill.

Palo Verde trailed by as many as 19 points early in the second half, and Clarke challenged his team to display some pride and intensity.

"We just wanted to see what they were made of," Clarke said.

The final two minutes showed just that. Josh Stefan started the run with a right-wing 3-pointer to cut Palo Verde's deficit to 64-59 with 1:35 remaining, and 35 seconds later, the game's oddest sequence would conclude with the Panthers pulling even.

Nate Schulte, who led Palo Verde with 15 points, grabbed a tough offensive rebound and powered up for the putback, drawing a foul in the process. As Schulte converted the three-point play, officials whistled Foothill's Jeff Vanorsow for a rare foul on the rebound attempt. The Falcons had long ago picked up their 10th foul, meaning Palo Verde's Jarrell Harrison went to the line for two more free throws.

The Panthers' sophomore converted both tries to tie the game at 64. Foothill blew a chance to take the lead when Jamaal Smith, who topped all scorers with 20 points, missed a pair of free throws with 45 seconds left.

That allowed Palo Verde the final opportunity. After a timeout with 29 seconds to play, the Panthers drained the clock to about seven seconds before Steffen drove along the right baseline, drew the defense and slipped a pass to Coney. The big forward stepped into the lane and lofted the winning layup over the outstretched arm of Foothill's Marques Ramos.

Foothill coach Kevin Soares felt his team's problems began well before the final sequence.

"Free throws in the fourth quarter killed us," Soares said. "We didn't take care of the ball and we just got outplayed."

Both teams endured a terrible night from the line, as Foothill shot 17-of-28 and Palo Verde 15-of-35.

Chris Cochran totaled 17 points and seven rebounds for Foothill, but fouled out on Schulte's late three-point play. Harrison scored 14 points and Coney added 12 for the Panthers.