Throughout the game, Horizon of San Diego had done a much better job on free throws than had St. Joseph.

But when the foul shots counted most, Knight Joe Tilley made three, teammate Stewart Kussler sank two and the Panthers/ Robert Walton came up empty.

Thus, the top-ranked Knights held off No. 4 Horizon for a 64-60 victory at raucous, packed Joe White Memorial Gymnasium in the Southern California Regional semifinals of the CIF Division IV State Boys Basketball Playoffs Thursday night.

Horizon won the San Diego Section and was the two-time defending Division IV state champion. The Knights take on second-seeded Verbum Dei of Los Angeles at 7 p.m. at Cal State Fullerton Saturday night in the regional final.

If the Knights win, they play the Northern Regional winner for the state championship at 4 p.m. next Friday at ARCO Arena in Sacramento. This marks the farthest a Knights boys basketball team has ever gone. The 1991 squad made it to the second round of the regional. The 1998 team lost in the first round.

"I guess it will sink in tomorrow," that the Knights are in the regional final, said Tilley. "Right now I/m just happy we won and beat a very good team.

"They were better than I thought they/d be. These guys impressed me."

The game was not for the squeamish. The players weren/t shy about mixing it up inside, and the officials let a lot of contact go. St. Joseph players seemed to be hammered inside several times with no call, and Knight ballhandlers appeared to get away with pushoffs at times.

The packed gym was rockin/. "I/ve been in a lot of playoff games, and this was as exciting as any," said Knights coach Ed Torres, who took St. Joseph to a divisional boys section title in 1998.

"I/m really grateful to the community for coming out and showing its support the way it did."

Quincy Robinson fouled Tilley on Tilley/s 3-point try with 25 seconds left, and Tilley sank all his allotted free throws to give the Knights a 62-58 margin.

"I wasn/t thinking about anything," Tilley said. "Heck, they/re only free throws. We shoot them all the time in practice."

Thursday night, Horizon was 17-for-21 to St. Joseph/s 14-for-24 from the line.

But with the partisan St. Joseph crowd howling, Walton missed the front end of a one-and-one four seconds later, and Knight Bryan McConkey grabbed the rebound.

Steve Winnick fouled Kussler, and Kussler buried both free throws to make it 64-58 with 16 seconds left. The Panthers/ last chance was gone when Winnick/s three-pointer with five seconds left rolled around the rim and went out. Robinson tipped in the rebound, but by then the final outcome was sealed.

The Knights are 31-3. Horizon finished 17-13, but the Panthers/ record was deceptive.

"They lost to Morro Bay earlier, but you can/t really go by that score," said Kussler, who poured in 29 points. "We knew they would make a big run in the fourth quarter and get their second wind."

The Panthers, down 53-39 when the third quarter began, did indeed make a big run. Matt Lagrone, the Panthers/ 6-7 forward, led Horizon with 18 points, and he scored on the Panthers/ first four possessions on rebound baskets.

"That guy was killing us," Kussler said.

Ryan Adlesh made a line drive 3-pointer to hike the Knights/ lead to 57-47 with 4:44 to play. But Adlesh missed four consecutive free throws later, and the Panthers were within 59-58 when Quenton Byers made a put-back with 1:31 left.

The Panthers had a chance for the lead, but Walton missed a 17-footer with 45 seconds left, and Kussler grabbed the rebound. "I just knew I had to box out, and I got a big rebound for our team," Kussler said. He and Tilley are the tallest Knights, at 6-4.

Horizon had St. Joseph in trouble early, turning the game into a halfcourt one instead of the fullcourt transition one the Knights usually like. There was no characteristic big St. Joseph lead early on this time. The Panthers led 11-6 the first several minutes.

Adlesh (10 points Tuesday night) and Andrew Schmalbach (12), became more involved in the offense in the second half, and the Knights began building their big lead late in the third quarter.

During the last 2:21 of the period, St. Joseph outscored Horizon 11-4, came up with four turnovers and kept the Panthers without a field goal.

"We knew we had to put pressure on the ballhandlers and trap them in the corners, which we hadn/t been doing," said Kussler.

March 12, 2004