High School Basketball Tiebreakers : FRONTIER LEAGUE : Agoura Finishes Strongly in Win Over Nordhoff

When Agoura High basketball Coach Kevin Pasky talks, his team listens. At least when it counts.

After a cold start and a couple of speeches by Pasky, the Chargers concentrated on the task at hand, captured third place in the Frontier League standings and qualified for the Southern Section 2-A Division playoffs with a 75-41 victory over Nordhoff in a tiebreaker at the Santa Clara High gym Saturday night.

“We’ve had a hard time concentrating on what we should be doing on the court for long periods of time this season,” Pasky said. “After I had a couple of talks with the guys in the first quarter, they really settled down and concentrated on the game. We ended up playing our best game of the year.”

Agoura trailed most of the first quarter until forward Frank Jacobellis scored with 2:49 left to put the Chargers ahead, 7-6.

Agoura began working the ball around in the second quarter and outscored Nordhoff, 19-9, to open up a 32-19 halftime lead.

A key element was the Chargers’ trapping defense, which forced Nordhoff into 16 turnovers.

Agoura forward Shambi Huddleston, meanwhile, concentrated on the boards, grabbing 13 rebounds in addition to scoring 13 points.

“He came out flat, but after I talked to him, he settled down and played tough,” Pasky said of Huddleston.

Center Dave Corridori paced a balanced Agoura offense with 15 points and guard Arnie Goldstein added 12.

Agoura (10-13, 4-5 in league play) realized one of its preseason goals by clinching a playoff berth.

Nordhoff (10-13, 3-6) was led by guard Larry Carlton’s 17 points.