Aaron Berry went from potential goat to definite hero Friday night in a matter of seconds, and the result was the Hawks' biggest win of the season so far.

First, Berry missed two free throws with 15 seconds remaining and LPC up by one point in overtime against Diablo Valley in the semifinals of the DVC Classic in Pleasant Hill. Then 11 seconds later, he deflected away a pass on defense, denying the Vikings a probable game-winning basket to seal the Hawks' 69-68 victory.

LPC, which evened its nonconference record at 5-5, plays for the tournament title at 4 p.m. Saturday against Santa Monica, an 81-59 winner over Sierra, in the other semifinal.

DVC fell to 4-3. The Vikings, who entered the tourney ranked #11 in the state and #6 in Northern California, play Sierra at 2 p.m. in the third-place game.

For the first few minutes of the second half against LPC, it appeared that DVC would cruise into the championship game. The Vikings led 31-30 at halftime, then opened the second half by outscoring the Hawks 11-1 to build a 42-31 advantage.

However, LPC immediately countered with 11 consecutive points--5 by Cameron Moses, 4 by McKayle Harnell, and 2 by Kameron Johnson--to pull even at 42-42.

DVC led 58-56 with 5:28 left in regulation before Moses made a free throw, Harnell nailed a three, and Keith Hunter made 1 of 2 foul shots to put the Hawks ahead 61-58 a minute later.

The Vikings regained the lead and were up 63-61 when Moses tied the score with a spinning drive at the 1:04 mark. DVC missed a three on the other end, and LPC wound the clock down, but Johnson's three-point attempt was tipped with 3 seconds left. DVC couldn't get a shot up, and the game went into overtime.

In the extra period, Johnson hit a three with 2:51 left, giving the Hawks a 69-66 lead. After a DVC bucket, the Vikings had two more possessions before Berry's missed free throws, but the Vikings turned the ball over both times.

Moses led the Hawks with 18 points, Hunter had 17, Harnell had 16, and Johnson added 14.