Watch: Buzzer beaters trigger home-court celebrations

Friday was a night of dramatic game winners in high school basketball.

And Monday was a day for two campuses to high-five senior guards who had the final say with the final shot.

About the time Bella Vista’s Josh Caraccio dropped in a corner three at the buzzer to beat visiting Ponderosa 65-63 in a Capital Valley Conference game, an even more fantastic finish played out in Placer County.

Scott Trembinski’s two-handed heave from just beyond halfcourt gave Lincoln a 47-44 nonleague victory over visiting Rio Americano. With the score tied, the Raiders’ Matt Lyon just missed a go-ahead attempt from the top of the key. Trembinski grabbed the rebound, took two dribbles and unleashed his shot. Trembinski then was mobbed by Zebras fans who stormed the court.

Caraccio was having a tough shooting night (0 of 5). But his coaches didn’t lose faith, and neither did Elijah Gallegos, who passed to Caraccio for the winning shot, which caused Broncos fans to stampede onto the floor. Ranked 12th by The Sacramento Bee, Bella Vista (11-4) was coming off a 63-62 home loss to No. 11 Whitney two nights earlier.

Trembinski had eight points, none bigger in his prep career than the past three. No. 20 Lincoln (16-1) equaled its win total of last season and expects more close games in the Pioneer Valley League, including one against rival and 16th-ranked Placer on Friday.

Zebras coach Robert Ash put his best defender, PJ Manley, on Lyon on Rio Americano’s final possession. Lyon, one of the region’s top guards, dribbled the clock down to just under two seconds and fired. Lyon said he thought his shot would be good, and he credited the Zebras with the victory.

“Lyon is a great kid, and we got lucky he missed because he doesn’t miss a lot,” Ash said. “PJ did about as good of a job as you can with a player like (Lyon), and he challenged his shot.”

Anticipating overtime, Ash said he wanted to save his last timeout.

“I was grabbing the clipboard and taking a step onto the court to address the team, and then looked at the ball from Trembinski and thought, ‘That’s right on line,’ ” said Ash, whose team was coming off its lone loss, 58-52 at Del Oro. “And then it just went down. It’s an awesome memory for those kids to have. Trembinski is an unbelievable kid, well known on campus, great head on his shoulders, a joy to coach. All of our kids are like that.”

Zack Detillion led Lincoln with 18 points against Rio Americano.

Dragons’ fire – Top-ranked Sacramento is led by two four-year starters, guard Christian Terrell and forward-center Solomon Young. But those two don’t carry the entire load.

In a 91-45 win at Laguna Creek on Friday, Terrell had a triple double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and Young scored 19 points. But Dragons guard Andrew Williams had a game-high 27 points. The senior made 12 of 17 shots, including three three-pointers. A four-year varsity player, Williams has played alongside Terrell and Young since the fourth grade. He also comes from an athletic family. His father, Clint, received Fresno Bee All-Metro basketball honors in 1982 playing for Central High School, and he earned All-America honors as a triple jumper at Fresno State. His mother, Denise, played volleyball at Fresno State in the 1980s.

Sacramento visits No. 7 Burbank on Tuesday night and faces Bay Area power Moreau Catholic in the 20th Martin Luther King Classic at Cal on Monday.

Falcons fly – Before an overflow crowd at home, the Christian Brothers girls rallied from nine points down in the second half to beat St. Francis 52-47 Saturday in the annual Holy Court nonleague game.

With the victory, Christian Brothers flip-flopped with St. Francis in The Bee rankings, going from fifth to fourth. Kalani Mark led the Falcons with 18 points and “controlled the game” for them at point guard, Christian Brothers coach Ron Gully said. Freshman Brianna Juniel added 10 points and Jessica Cooper seven for the Falcons.

“Mark is 100 percent underrated, and I would not trade her for any Sacramento-area point guard,” Gully said. “We play very fast, baseline to baseline, and sub five (players) for five every two minutes. We force tempo and look to get teams tired.”

Wrestling – The 20th annual Tim Brown Memorial Invitational, hosted by Foothill, is scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Memorial Auditorium. The action starts at 10 a.m. both days with the finals expected to begin at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Top area programs competing include Elk Grove, Granite Bay, Folsom and Ponderosa. Chico, the top-ranked team in the Northern Section, and Bay Area powers, including Bellarmine of San Jose, also are in the field.

This story was originally published January 11, 2016 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Watch: Buzzer beaters trigger home-court celebrations."