HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : University City Sidetracked by USDHS

Mission aborted, at least until further notice.

In its nine-year existence, University City has never won a league championship in boys’ basketball. So, at the beginning of the year, the Centurions set out to win a City Western League banner, preferably without a loss.

Going into its game against USDHS Friday night, the mission was almost complete. Sixth-ranked UC had a perfect league mark (6-0) and had beaten USDHS in the first meeting.

But USDHS threw the first glitch into UC’s plans by defeating the Centurions, 60-55, in front of a full gym at USDHS.

“They’ve been saying all season they’re on a mission, and we were too,” said leading scorer Peter Ellis of USDHS, who finished with 18 points. “We knew this was our only chance.”

The Dons’ victory gave UC something other than its first league loss to contemplate. USDHS improved to 5-2, with a final league game against struggling Mission Bay. UC gets a date at Kearny, where USDHS lost its second City West game.

“Give them the credit, they played well,” said UC Coach Tom Medigovich. “They’re a great team, and they’re great at home.”

And USDHS gave its audience quiet a show. They played to a 15-15 first-quarter tie. Halftime would have also been tied, at 29, but Greg Santos pulled up with a baseline jumper at the buzzer to give the Dons a 31-29 lead.

More of the same in the third quarter, when Price’s three field goals helped the Centurions take a 41-40 lead.

USDHS went on a 9-1 run early on in the fourth, but UC fought back and tied it at 52 with 2:47 remaining.

Not until Dean Dodd stepped to the foul line with 25 seconds left, after UC’s Jerome Price was charged with an intentional foul, did the Dons begin to put the game away. His free throws made it 58-55, and two more foul shots by Eric Barajas finished the scoring.

UC stayed in its zone defense, while USDHS switched from man-to-man to a full-court press to a 2-3 zone to a half-court trap.

Now Kearny must do what it does best, defeat UC at home, to give USDHS any chance of a co-league championship.

Can they do it?

“They have to,” Barajas said.