Frustration Ends for Santa Paula : Basketball: Cardinals make their free throws in final seconds, snap Santa Clara’s 91-game streak.

SANTA PAULA — Last month, Manuel Escamilla and Chris Cannon were haunted by missed free throws that could have snapped Santa Clara High’s 86-game Frontier League boys’ basketball winning streak.

Cannon and Escamilla each missed one-and-one opportunities in overtime which could have ended 22 years of frustration for Santa Paula.

Tuesday night, Escamilla and Cannon exorcised those ghosts by sinking three of four free throws in the final seconds to seal a 52-49 victory in front of a capacity crowd of 2,000 at Santa Paula High.

The loss is the first for Santa Clara since losing to Nordhoff in 1985. The streak reached 91 games and fell eight games short of the Southern Section record. Santa Paula (21-2, 8-1 in league play) had not beaten Santa Clara since 1972.

Cannon made both his free throws with five seconds left to give the Cardinals a seemingly insurmountable 52-47 lead.

Then Santa Clara called a timeout.

During the ensuing celebration on the Santa Paula bench, reserve Robert Vega was called for a technical foul for crossing the half-court line and taunting the Santa Clara bench.

Kevin Collins, who scored 23 points, sank both free throws but Santa Clara (15-7, 7-1) could not get a shot off before time expired.

“I was definitely thinking about last month when we had a chance to win,” Cannon said. “Almost all I’ve been doing has been practicing free throws if I got another chance.”

Escamilla struggled the entire game, making just two of 13 shots, including seven misses from three-point range.

But he made one of two free throws with 25 seconds left to keep Santa Paula ahead by four points.

The Saints got an emotional lift to recover from a seven-point halftime deficit when Matt Hanson started the second half. Hanson, a 6-foot-4 senior, had not played since breaking his hand in December.

Santa Paula appeared to have the game under control, entering the fourth quarter with a 39-29 lead, but guard Ben Tryk, who finished with 22 points, and center Dan Herrera were plagued by leg cramps and Santa Clara chipped away at the lead.

The Cardinals’ problems were compounded when the 6-7 Herrera, who had 13 rebounds, fouled out with just under three minutes remaining.

“Those last plays were the longest 20 seconds of my life because I couldn’t be in there,” Herrera said.

Santa Clara had a chance to tie the game with just over a minute remaining but center Mike McGill (10 points) was called for an offensive foul. Tryk hit two free throws to keep Santa Paula comfortably ahead until the final seconds.

“We’ve been waiting four years for this,” Escamilla said. “It means a lot to break the streak here, in front of our crowd.”

The Cardinals got a break early in the game when Santa Clara point guard Damein Smith picked up three personal fouls in the first four minutes.

Smith stayed in foul trouble throughout the game, picking up his fourth foul midway through the third quarter, but he played the entire fourth quarter.

“You lose your point guard, you’re going to have problems,” Santa Clara Coach Lou Cvijanovich said. “We’re just going to have to start a new streak Thursday.”

Santa Paula took advantage of Smith’s early absence and ignited the crowd when Escamilla lobbed a perfect alley-oop pass to Cannon. The play gave Santa Clara an early 12-7 lead.

Santa Clara pulled within 16-14 early in the second quarter, but the Cardinals managed to build a lead again despite erratic play by Escamilla.

In one possession late in the first half, Escamilla, Santa Paula’s leading scorer, missed two free throws. After Santa Paula recovered the rebound, Escamilla found himself open for a three-point attempt, which barely nicked the front of the rim.

Escamilla didn’t score until he hit two free throws just before the half to give Santa Paula a 26-19 lead.