Ogugua's Buzzer Beater Clinches PCAC Championship!

The Knights trailed by 10 points with 2:06 remaining, but they put together a furious rally by forcing five MiraCosta turnovers down the stretch and then won the game, 75-73, on a Jonathan Ogugua off-balance jumper as time expired. The win clinched the 2022 PCAC championship, City's ninth since 2001, as the Knights remained undefeated in conference play at 13-0.

City, which moved up to No. 5 in the state rankings this week, improved to 22-3 overall with three games remaining on the schedule.

Ogugua led all scorers with 24 points to go with four rebounds and four steals. Josh Williams added 17 points and five rebounds, while Anthony Howell produced nine points and 13 rebounds.

The Knights went ahead 17-11 midway through the first half, but it was all MiraCosta in the final 9:46 of the half as the Spartans went into halftime with a 36-27 lead. 

City came out strong at the start of the second half, outscoring MiraCosta 14-6 in the first six minutes to get within 42-41 with 14:01 left, but the Spartans responded with a 15-6 run to push their lead back up to 10 at the 9:46 mark.

Taleh Wade, who scored eight points off the bench, knocked down a 3-pointer with 3:08 left to bring the Knights within six. MiraCosta, however, seemingly put the game away after a Julian Williams (17 points) 3-pointer with 2:06 left in the game.

The Knights were not done. Williams hit a jumper and then made a pair of free throws after a steal by Makiah Morris (nine points, four steals). Following a MiraCosta turnover and a missed free throw, Ogugua drove into the lane and converted a layup to cut the Spartans' lead down to 73-69 with 34 seconds remaining. 

Morris stole the ball once again, which led to a Graham Cook layup to get within two with 25 seconds to go. Drew Cisse (four points, 11 rebounds, three blocks) forced another MiraCosta turnover which led to Williams hitting a pair of free throws to tie the game with 10 seconds left. 

After a timeout, MiraCosta committed yet another turnover, its fifth in the final 1:19 of the game, to put the ball in the Knights' hands with 3.7 showing on the clock. 

With no timeouts remaining, Morris inbounded the ball to Ogugua who then dribbled from the MiraCosta's 3-point line towards the left wing and hit the off-balance game-winning jumper as the buzzer sounded.

The Knights overcame a bad shooting night (39.7%) with tough defense down the stretch and rebounding. They had a 44-29 advantage on the boards, including a 19-6 lead on offensive rebounds which led to a 24-10 edge on second chance points.

City will close out the regular season with a 6 p.m. road game at Grossmont on Friday and then two home games against Imperial Valley on Feb. 21 and 23.