Pajevic paces Tars’ overtime win, 67-62

Barry Faulkner

When it came to picking its poison, Aliso Niguel High may have

ignored the obvious Friday night against Sea View League boys

basketball visitor Newport Harbor.

By the hosts choosing to focus their defensive pressure on the

Sailors’ guards, Newport’s 6-foot-8 senior center, Nedim Pajevic, was

left plenty of room to operate in the paint. He didn’t miss his

chance to make the Wolverines pay in the Tars’ 67-62 overtime

victory.

Pajevic amassed a career-high 29 points, including four in

overtime, and also collected 22 rebounds to allow the visitors (14-8,

6-1 in league) to maintain a share of the league lead, along with

Woodbridge, with three Sea View games remaining.

Pajevic made 12 of 16 field-goal attempts, including a

three-pointer, and was 4 of 5 from the free-throw line, including

both ends of a one-and-one with 39 seconds left in regulation and

both ends of a double-bonus opportunity with 27 ticks remaining in

overtime. He also chipped in four assists, three blocked shots and

two steals.

“He was a rebound machine tonight,” Newport Harbor Coach Larry

Hirst said.

Pajevic’s heroics helped the Sailors survive a scare from the

Wolverines (9-12, 2-5), who erased a 17-point deficit with 3:55 left

in the third quarter to pull even, 59-59, on 6-6 senior Austin

Schwab’s five-foot turnaround over Pajevic with four seconds left in

regulation.

Aliso, which had not led since 3-2, scored the first three points

of the four-minute overtime, before the Sailors settled down and took

care of business.

Junior Andre Pinesett began the overtime rally with a driving

layin with 2:52 left, then the Tars regained possession when senior

guard Chase Cameron blocked a Wolverine shot.

On the ensuing trip down the floor, a Pajevic putback off a missed

three-pointer put the Sailors up, 63-62, with 1:16 left.

Senior guard Chad Rorden locked on defensively with Aliso scoring

leader Terence Green to force an air ball that Pajevic rebounded with

47 seconds left and Pajevic converted at the line 20 seconds later to

up the lead to three.

Junior Brett Lowenthal then rebounded a missed three-point attempt

with six seconds left and added two insurance foul shots with three

seconds left to give the Sailors their second road league win of the

week.

Losing the hefty lead was not the only adversity the Sailors

overcame, as sophomore forward Brett Perrine, who has started some

this season but had lately been utilized as the sixth man, went down

late in the first quarter with what could be torn cartilage in his

right knee. Perrine, whose older brother, Greg, missed part of his

senior season last year with a torn ACL, said his knee buckled while

colliding with a defender under the basket on a drive. He was

administered to by the Aliso trainer, who suggested a cartilage tear.

“They said they heard clicking and popping (upon examining the

knee), which usually means cartilage,” Hirst said.

The Sailors have played without 6-8 junior Jamie Diefenbach all

season, after he suffered a season-ending torn ACL in fall practice.

“As a staff, we shake our heads and wonder how many guys we’re

going to lose,” Hirst said. “But to have your sixth man hurt, then

have a team on the ropes at their place and have them come back on

you, with the fans going berserk, this win is a testament to our

kids’ composure. We came back in overtime and our free throws (4 for

4 in the extra session) sealed the deal.”

Lowenthal finished with 12 points, including two three-pointers.

He also had four rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

Rorden finished with seven points and five assists, while Cameron

chipped in six points.

Nick Glassic, a 6-3 senior, helped fill the void left by Perrine,

contributing five points (2 of 2 from the field and hitting his lone

free throw) and four rebounds.