Simi Valley Fights Back to Defeat Agoura, 58-49

Depending on your point of view, Agoura High either let one get away or Simi Valley pulled one out of the fire.

Either way, Agoura Coach Kevin Pasky fired away at his players after Simi Valley erased an 11-point first-quarter deficit to claim a 58-49 Marmonte League victory Friday night at Simi Valley.

The win kept Simi Valley (14-4, 5-1 in league play) one game behind first-place Thousand Oaks.

Agoura (9-7, 2-4) darted to an 11-0 lead--thanks to three turnovers and a three-point basket by senior forward Jeff Niemann--that seemed to have the Pioneers all but bewildered.

However, Simi Valley stormed back to pull to within 12-8 after one quarter, then took a 25-17 halftime lead.

Simi Valley, leading, 45-41, with three minutes to play, finished strong by making seven of nine free throws when the Chargers were forced to foul.

“You’re always worried,” Simi Valley Coach Dean Bradshaw said of Agoura’s early lead. “They played really well. They got pounded the other night by Thousand Oaks, so for them to get up early on us, you gotta give them a lot of credit.”

Not necessarily.

Pasky led his players into a short but far-from-sweet closed-door meeting seconds after the final buzzer. It is safe to say that plaudits were not handed out.

Pasky said it all came down to effort--or lack thereof.

“Right now,” Pasky said, sitting alone in the bleachers after the game, “we don’t have kids who really care about the game.”

Agoura did its part to pull close in the third quarter. Trailing, 33-21, the Chargers closed the quarter with an 11-2 run that featured a three-point basket by Josh Padilla to come within three points.

Ben Richardson’s inside basket to begin the fourth quarter pulled the Chargers to within a point, but they couldn’t come closer.

The Pioneers made 15 of 16 free throws in the quarter. Guard Ryan Briggs, who scored nine of his 11 points in the fourth quarter, was six of six from the line.