Five players scored in double figures and Long Beach made 17 three-pointers in a 92-70 rout of host Santa Ana Wednesday evening in a rematch of last season's playoff game.
Long Beach (5-3) won for the 4th time in its last 5 games, taking a first-half lead after an 11-0 run and pulling away in the second half with a 19-3 run, both of which featured a lot of 3-pointers.
Santa Ana (4-6) may have been looking for revenge for last season's 87-79 loss to the Vikings in the mini-round of the playoffs. And it is often said that revenge is best served cold; the Dons not only had to wait since last February for the rematch but also had to wait an additional 8 days after a leaky roof postponed the game from its originally-scheduled December 2nd slot.
But Wednesday night, Long Beach just kept making 3-pointers. After Santa Ana led, 9-4, early on, the Vikings went on an 11-0 run, taking a 12-9 lead on a three by Elijah Gaines. The run finished with a rare tradtional 3-point play when Gaines converted a lay-up and free throw off an assist from Chris Spencer following a steal by Andre Springer.
Long Beach held a lead the rest of the half, opening a 14-point advantage after a 3-pointer by Gaines with just under five minutes remaining. But Santa Ana cut the margin to just seven points after Ausjai Fusick made two free throws with 1:38 left before the break to make it 38-31, and the Dons trailed by just 7 points at 41-34 at intermission.
In the second half, however, Long Beach used an early 19-3 run to pull away for good. Spencer scored three straight 2-point baskets to spark the run, and then Menas Saad drained a three to make it 58-39. Two free throws by Gaines following a steal by Brandon Staton pushed the lead to 21 points with 14:05 left. Two 3-pointers by Springer pushed the Viking lead to 25 points at 66-41 with 12:30 left, and the rout was on.
Spencer, one of the few Vikings without a 3-point basket, led all scorers with 18 pts and also added a game-high 12 rebs plus 4 asts, 2 blocks and a steal. Gaines had 16 pts, including 2 threes, and a game-high 8 asts. Staton had 16 pts, including 4 threes, plus 7 rebs and 5 asts. Springer also had 16 pts, including 5 threes, plus 5 steals. Michael Shivers came off the bench for 11 pts including 3 threes.
For Santa Ana, Ramez Michail was one of the few bright spots, coming off the bench for 16 pts on 5-for-7 from the floor and adding 2 rebs and 3 asts. Justin Bryan was the only other player for the Dons to score in double digits; he finished with 11 pts, 7 rebs and 2 blocked shots. Chris Kapano had 6 pts and a team-best 6 asts.
box score
Wednesday, December 20, 2014 - 6 pm
at Santa Ana College
Long Beach Vikings 92:
3-Elijah Gaines, PG - 5/15 fg, 4/5 ft, 4 reb, 8 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 1 pf, 16 pts
11-Chris Spencer, PF - 7/16 fg, 4/9 ft, 12 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl, 18 pts
15-Mena Saad, SF - 2/4 fg, 1 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 6 pts
21-Brandon Staton, SG - 5/15 fg, 2/2 ft, 7 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 16 pts
44-Davarrus Bryant, C - 0/2 fg, 0/2 ft, 7 reb, 5 blk, 2 stl, 5 pf, 0 pts
5-Jammaal Roebuck, G - 2 pf, 0 pts
1-Andre Springer, G - 5/8 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl, 2 pf, 16 pts
31-Michael Shivers, F - 3/8 fg, 2/2 ft, 4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 11 pts
42-Ryan Stewart, C - 3/4 fg, 4 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 4 pf, 6 pts
4-Isaac Stell, G - 1/2 fg, 1 ast, 2 pf, 3 pts
32-Simmie Shelton, F - 1 pf, 0 pts
23-Bonyosckar Reyes, G - 0/1 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 0 pts
50-Jovan Pearson, C - 0/1 ft, 2 reb, 0 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 31/74 fg (.419), 13/24 ft (.542), 48 reb, 26 ast, 9 blk, 14 stl, 27 pf, 92 pts
3-pt fg (17): Springer 5, Staton 4, Shivers 3, Gaines 2, Saad 2, Stell
Fouled Out: Bryant 6:39 left
Turnovers (11): Gaines 3, Staton 3, Springer, Stewart, Reyes, Pearson, team
Santa Ana Dons 70:
2-Du'Juan Williams, SG - 1/8 fg, 0/1 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 pts
11-Chris Kapano, PG - 1/3 fg, 3/4 ft, 1 reb, 6 ast, 4 pf, 6 pts
25-Terrence Blum, PF - 3/7 fg, 4 reb, 2 ast, 2 pf, 7 pts
32-De'Jon Frazier, SF - 3/5 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 1 blk, 1 pf, 8 pts
33-Justin Bryan, C - 4/8 fg, 3/5 ft, 7 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 2 pf, 11 pts
31-Kejuan Darby, F - 3/9 fg, 1/3 ft, 6 reb, 2 stl, 2 pf, 7 pts
15-Ramez Michail, G - 5/7 fg, 5/8 ft, 2 reb, 3 ast, 3 pf, 16 pts
21-Kyle Kintzle, F - 3/6 fg, 5 reb, 8 pts
23-Isaiah Chennault, F - 0/2 fg, 0/1 ft, 2 reb, 2 pf, 0 pts
55-Ausjai Fusick, G - 1/2 fg, 3/4 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 pf, 5 pts
41-David Wright, G - 0/2 fg, 1 reb, 1 pf, 0 pts
35-Ashton Condoll, F - 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 8
Totals: 24/60 fg (.400), 17/28 ft (.607), 46 reb, 17 ast, 3 blk, 6 stl, 19 pf, 70 pts
3-pt fg (5): Kintzle 2, Kapano, Blum, Michail
Turnovers (19): Williams 5, Kapano 4, Frazier 3, Michail 3, Blum, Bryan, Chennault, Condoll
Halftime Score: Long Beach 41, Santa Ana 34
Updated Records: Long Beach 5-3, Santa Ana 4-6
SA led 4-0 and 9-4 early on.
Long Beach went on an 11-0 run to lead 15-9 and led the rest of the way.
It was still a single-digit game at 47-38 until LBCC went on 19-3 run to pull away.
