SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL FINALS : DIVISION III BOYS : Harvard Blocked by Artesia

ANAHEIM —  Harvard-Westlake High called on its big shot for the biggest shot of the season.

But did Jason Collins get off a fair shot?

With one second to play, Collins’ three-point attempt was partially blocked and fell unsuccessfully as Lakewood Artesia hung on for a 55-54 victory Saturday at The Pond of Anaheim.

On the final play, it appeared that body contact was made between Artesia forward Jonathan Nelsen and Collins, a 6-foot-10 sophomore center and the Wolverines’ go-to guy.

Collins and Harvard Coach Greg Hilliard both claimed that contact was made.

But both stopped short of crying foul.

“It was a shot that didn’t go down for us,” Hilliard said. “Obviously, you’re not going to get a call like that at that point. We weren’t looking for that.”

Yet it appeared Collins and his teammates were. As the buzzer sounded, Collins and forward Jason Levin both turned to an official with their arms and eyebrows raised.

The defeat stunned the Wolverines (29-3), who won the Southern Section Division III-A championship on the same court a week earlier. After two regional victories, Harvard held a 31-23 halftime lead over Division III-AA champion Artesia (29-3), which won state championships in 1990, ’92 and ’93 with the help of brothers Ed and Charles O’Bannon, now at UCLA.

Several Harvard players sat with their heads in their hands during award presentations.

“In a close game like that, I could see that the refs are not going to give anything away,” said Collins, who finished with 13 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. “It was a great season. We just wanted to win.”

The Wolverines nearly did, despite blowing a lead and even falling behind, 55-48, with 43 seconds to play.

Senior guard Ben Robbins, who scored a team-high 17 points, sank a pair of three-point baskets 15 seconds apart to pull Harvard to within a point with 15 seconds to play.

With five seconds left, Artesia’s Kevin Daley missed a free throw and Jarron Collins rebounded for Harvard. But after a timeout, the Wolverines were slow in moving the ball up court.

“We knew they were going to try to get the ball to the big fella,” Artesia Coach Wayne Merino said. “We were worried, heck yeah. We tried to put as much pressure on him as possible.”

Nelsen, who got a piece of Collins’ offering, said pressure was the difference. He claimed Harvard was intimidated down the stretch by the Pioneers.

“We could see a little fear in their eyes when we were starting to come back,” Nelsen said. “This says a lot about the success of our program. It says that we can still do it without the O’Bannons.”

Said Robbins of Harvard: “I don’t think we were scared so much as we were surprised. Here’s this team with a great reputation and we were beating them and no one had given us much of a chance.

“I don’t think we gave it away. I think they just stepped up their game.”

Artesia will play Walnut Creek Northgate (33-2) for the state championship next Saturday in Oakland. Nelsen led the Pioneers with 14 points. Junior guard James Lee added 13 and junior guard Dajuan Wilson had 12. All five Pioneer starters entered the game with double-figure scoring averages.

For Harvard, which posted the school’s first Southern Section championship in any sport since 1970, the future looks promising. Jason Collins, who averaged 20.6 points and 12.6 rebounds, and twin Jarron, who averaged 13.2 points and 10.1 rebounds, return for two more seasons.

“It’s real tough to come this close and lose,” Hilliard said. “Maybe in a couple of weeks I’ll be able to appreciate what a great experience this year has been for us.”