OCEANSIDE – It's not easy winning a basketball game when scoring only two points in the fourth period, but the Oceanside High boys team found a way last night in the San Diego Section Division II quarterfinals.

The Pirates held off a furious rally by the Monte Vista Monarchs for a 41-40 victory. Oceanside (15-10) advances to the semifinals against top-seeded Hoover on Tuesday.

Not bad for a football school.

“I'm sure everybody knows we're a huge football school. Our kids did a great job in football, but we didn't get (the four football players) until Dec. 27 (because of the football bowl game,” said second-year coach Corey Hogue. “The kids kept saying we're going to be in the semifinals, and they believed it and that's how we played it.”

The Pirates won without starting point guard and No. 2 scorer J.J. Whitaker, who was absent because of a death in the family. But they played well in the first half and extended their 11-point lead to 32-18 on a three-pointer by Markese Cronk to open the second half. The Pirates appeared well on their way to a victory, but the Monarchs (11-19) began to fight back.

Monte Vista finally took the lead, 40-39, on an inside basket by leading scorer Geoff Hartman (14 points) with 3:20 remaining. It would be the last points the Monarchs could muster.

Oceanside's Armani Taylor, one of the four football standouts, drove to the hoop for a basket and a foul 16 seconds later. He missed the free throw, one of eight straight the Pirates would miss in the final period.

Each team had its chances down the stretch. The Monarchs missed all three free throws when fouled on a three-point attempt, then missed the front end of a one-and-one. Monte Vista's best and last chance to score was thwarted by a blocked shot from Oceanside's Euriah Engram with 10 seconds remaining.

Oceanside stepped to the line twice in the final 7.8 seconds and missed all three free throws, but Engram and Osmond Nicholas got offensive rebounds.

“If you can't box out on a free throw, you're not going to win,” said Monte Vista coach James Carroll.

Nicholas scored a game-high 16 points, 14 in the first half.

“It was just good defense, I guess,” said Nicholas. “Nothing was working on offense, so we picked it up on defense and gutted it out at the end.”