It wasn't just the 35-19 lead that put Coalinga High on the verge of upsetting Exeter in the Central Section boys Division IV basketball final Saturday at Selland Arena.

The Horned Toads, it seemed, had their entire southwest Fresno County community behind them.

"I was nervous," Exeter junior Brandon Briones said. "I just wanted to make a difference."

He did, while playing only the second half, and senior forward Elijah Garver scored 12 of his 18 points in the final two quarters as the second-seeded Monarchs denied No. 8 Coalinga its first section title with a shocking 46-43 decision.

"I felt comfortable on the floor the whole time," said Garver, who made 6 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter and 10 of 12 for the game.

Really?

"Well, I think we were all a little shell-shocked at first," he said. "We've never played in such a big stadium before."

Exeter (23-6), in fact, hadn't appeared in Selland Arena since 1975, when the Monarchs lost a semifinal to Edison. They had won only one section title previously, in 1948, according to section historian Bob Barnett.

Key to the comeback was Briones getting to play in the second half. He was ejected with 18 seconds left in Tuesday's 52-40 semifinal win over Sierra for throwing an elbow.

An ejection, per CIF rules, draws an automatic one-game suspension. But Exeter appealed and won just enough, having the penalty reduced to a half.

Consider the differences with the point guard in the game:

Exeter shot 27.8% in the first half; 47.4% in the second.

Coalinga (24-9), pressured more intensely in the backcourt, committed 11 turnovers in the second half after seven in the first.

"It made a huge difference with No. 3 (Briones) in the lineup, which caught me a little off guard," Horned Toads coach Jason McFarlin said. "I thought he was suspended. It made a big change in the game, getting a guy like that."

Briones made 2 of 3 shots and 3 of 4 free throws for seven points, and had two assists. More important was his defense.

Garver scored 10 points in the second half, including his last six straight free throws. It was his running jumper with 1 minute, 19 seconds remaining that gave the Monarchs their first lead, 42-41. Then he made four straight free throws to secure it as the Central Sequoia League fourth-place finishers advanced to a Southern California Regional on Wednesday at home.

Coalinga will travel to a regional Wednesday. Seedings will be announced today.

The Horned Toads, West Sierra League unbeaten champions, were the lowest of all seeds -- boys or girls -- in Selland. But outdrawing home teams on the road, they upset No. 1 Washington 68-58 and No. 5 Chowchilla 54-42 to get here.

"We weren't an 8 seed," McFarlin said. "We were never an 8 seed. We should have been a 4 seed."

Troy Arce, one of 10 juniors on Coalinga's 12-player roster, led the team with 12 points. Anthony Zataray, had nine, but his last-second 3 bounced off the rim.

"We'll be back," McFarlin said.

To which Zataray responded: "Guaranteed."