Samohi Escapes With Double Overtime Win:

On the basis of the teams’ records, there was nothing to indicate the Santa Monica High boys basketball team would be engaged in a tense double overtime struggle Friday night at Culver City.When Samohi escaped with a 55-52 victory it had a record of 13-6. Culver City was 5-12.But what a game it was. Samohi trailed, 52-49 when point guard Terrence Boozer scored the last six points of the game in the final 49 seconds on a jump shot and four free throws.By then, the capacity crowd was in a frenzy. The two teams had an equal number of fans and enough lead changes to give both sides a lot of hope throughout.Samohi emerged with a 3-1 record in the Ocean League. Culver City is 0-3.“Culver forced us into playing their tempo,” said Samohi Coach James Hecht. “A slower tempo than we like. They did a great job and maybe we were still thinking about Wednesday, an overtime loss at Beverly Hills.’’Two junior reserves were instrumental in Samohi’s victory. When Culver started fast to take a 12-5 lead, Hecht brought in guard Brian Louff and 6-foot-6 center Ari Feldman.They sparked a rally that gave Samohi a 24-12 lead. When that lead disappeared and the teams were forced to play two extra periods both players came back in to make a difference again.Louff led Samohi with 19 points. Feldman took some important rebounds and made a couple of outside shots.Louff has been a starter most of the season and has provided a spark off the bench in recent games as Samohi adjusts to the temporary loss of Akil Gainer due to an injury.Feldman is a star volleyball player who has an excellent shooting touch.In between, senior Will Freedman battled inside as Samohi struggled to match Culver’s rebounding.Freedman, an all-league choice last season, aggravated a wrist injury and was less effective than usual.The game was tied at the end of regulation, 43-43.Boozer missed a free throw with 0.2 of a second remaining in the first overtime, leaving the teams tied at 46. But he made up for it with his heroics at the end of the game.Samohi also played a non-league Saturday, defeating Brentwood, 54-46 at a one-day extravaganza called “The War On The Floor.” Freedman played briefly but was limited due to the injury.Samohi limited Andreas Schreiber, Brentwood’s 6-foot-9 center, to nine points.Samohi is scheduled at Hawthorne today. Hawthorne is the Ocean League leader with a 4-0 record.