In the showdown for a share of the WSC-North championship, Larry Bush poured in 39 pts and Jeremiah Gray made a key pair of 3-pointers in the second overtime as #11 Moorpark outlasted visiting #12 Cuesta, 107-100, Saturday night.
It was an incredible game from start to finish. There were 23 lead changes and 22 ties, the last at 100-100 midway through the second overtime. Neither team led by more than 10, and neither team led by more than 4 in the second half. And the teams combined for more 3-pointers (27) than turnovers (24).
Gray tied the game for Moorpark (20-8, 9-3) with a 3-pointer that made it 100-100 with 2:29 left in the second overtime. Then Bush scored off a pass from Justin Eisen to give the Raiders a 102-100 lead. Gray added another three to make it 105-100, giving Moorpark the largest lead in the second half or either overtime for the Raiders to that point. Reggie Dixon and Joshua Brooks each added a free throw in the final seconds to help close out the win.
But of course it took nearly three hours to get to that point in the game. And with a share - arguably, the lion's share - of the WSC-North title on the line, both teams were determined to come out on top. Both teams relied heavily on their starters, who accounted for all but 19 points in the game, with 14 of those points coming in the first half.
Moorpark opened the first significant lead of the game, using a 10-1 run to take a 20-13 advantage midway through the first half. Cuesta (22-9, 8-4) closed the gap to a single point before Moorpark tacked on another run, this one an 11-1 spurt, to take a 32-22 lead late in the first half.
But Cuesta erased that lead and more, finishing the first half with a 14-2 run and taking a 36-34 lead when Roberto Mantovani scored off a pass from Karem Ozel with about 10 seconds left before the break.
Then came the second half. Bush scored on a drive in the opening seconds, tying the score at 36. That would be the first of 14 ties in the second half alone, and there would be 17 lead changes.
For the next 20 minutes, the teams essentially traded baskets. With all the ties and lead changes, neither team led by more than 2 points until Cuesta took a 53-50 lead with just under 13 minutes left. Moorpark tied the score moments later on a three by Bush, and neither team led by more than 2 points again until Brooks gave Moorpark a 65-62 lead midway through the half. Benat Hevia tied the score moments later with a three for Cuesta, and the back-and-forth continued.
Hevia gave Cuesta an 82-81 lead and Evgeniy Moiseev followed with a three to give the Cougars an 85-81 lead. That was the largest lead of the second half for either team. But Bush scored on a drive for Moorpark to make it 85-83, and then tied the score with a mid-range jumper with about 30 seconds left in regulation time, and to overtime the teams went.
Neither team led by more than 2 points in the first overtime, and the lead changed hands 3 more times with 5 more ties. Ozel gave Cuesta a 92-90 lead with a driving lay-up with 27.8 seconds left, but Dixon scored for Moorpark with 14.8 seconds left to tie the score again, and the game went to a second overtime.
Mantovani scored off a pass from Hevia and then followed with a 3-pointer to give Cuesta a 97-92 lead, the largest of the second half or overtime for the Cougars. But Brooks made a three for Moorpark to cut the margin to two points, and with 3:14 left drew a foul on Cuesta's Moiseev, who fouled out on the play. Brooks made the two resulting free throws to tie the score at 97.
Mantovani made another three to give Cuesta a 100-97 lead with just under 3 minutes left in the second overtime, but those would be the final points of the game for the Cougars. Gray tied the score with the first of his two 3-pointers moments later, sparking the game-ending 10-0 run for the Raiders, and at long last Moorpark took control of the game in the final seconds.
For Moorpark, Bush poured in a game-high 39 pts, including 5 three-pointers. He also dished out a game-high 9 asts, while adding 5 rebs and a steal. Brooks had 22 pts, 5 rebs, 3 asts and 3 steals. Gray had 16 pts, 5 rebs 4 asts and 2 steals, and Dixon had 16 pts, 8 rebs, 2 steals and a blocked shot.
For Cuesta, Mantovani had a huge game with 34 pts, including 4 threes, plus a game-high 16 rebs, 3 asts, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Ozel had 16 pts and a team-high 6 asts, and Hevia had 16 pts and 5 asts. Eleftheriou had a double-double with 15 pts and 10 rebs.
The win gives Moorpark a share of the WSC-North championship, but the Raiders seem to have stronger playoff credentials and are expected to receive a higher seed than fellow co-champion Ventura. Cuesta finishes the regular season with 22 wins and should be seeded immediately behind Ventura when pairings are announced.
box score
Saturday, February 20, 2016 - 5 pm
at the Raider Sports Pavilion, Moorpark College
WSC-North
Cuesta Cougars 100:
1-Benat Hevia, PG - 6/11 fg, 3 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 16 pts
5-Karem Ozel, SG - 8/16 fg, 3 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 16 pts
33-Evgeniy Moiseev, SF - 3/9 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 4 pf, 8 pts
44-Rafail Eleftheriou, PF - 5/12 fg, 3/3 ft, 10 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 5 pf, 15 pts
55-Roberto Mantovani, C - 13/26 fg, 4/11 ft, 16 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk, 2 stl, 2 pf, 34 pts
10-Andres Aguado, G - 3/4 fg, 1 reb, 1 stl, 5 pf, 8 pts
21-Mathijs Van der Mars, F - 2 pf, 0 pts
35-Ben Peterson, C - 1 blk, 0 pts
3-Daniel Solis, G - 1/1 fg, 2 reb, 2 ast, 3 pf, 3 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 39/79 fg (.493), 7/14 ft (.500), 40 reb, 19 ast, 4 blk, 6 stl, 23 pf, 100 pts
3-pt fg (15): Hevia 4, Mantovani 4, Moiseev 2, Eleftheriou 2, Aguado 2, Solis
Fouled Out: Eleftheriou 3:14 left 2nd OT, Aguado 13.3 secs left 2nd OT
Turnovers (13): Ozel 2, Eleftheriou 2, Mantovani 2, Aguado 2, Solis 2, Hevia, Moiseev, team
Moorpark Raiders 107:
1-Joshua Brooks, SF - 8/15 fg, 5/10 ft, 5 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 1 pf, 22 pts
2-Jeremiah Gray, PF - 6/14 fg, 2/2 ft, 5 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 2 pf, 16 pts
3-Justin Eisen, SG - 2/8 fg, 5 reb, 2 ast, 1 pf, 6 pts
21-Larry Bush, PG - 13/19 fg, 8/11 ft, 5 reb, 9 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 39 pts
23-Reggie Dixon, C - 6/10 fg, 4/6 ft, 8 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl, 3 pf, 16 pts
4-Chris Fields, G - 1 pf, 0 pts
32-Brandon Hill, F - 2/3 fg, 2 reb, 5 ast, 1 pf, 6 pts
20-Jake Todey, F - 1/1 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 2 pts
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 38/70 fg (.543), 19/29 ft (.655), 37 reb, 24 ast, 1 blk, 8 stl, 14 pf, 107 pts
3-pt fg (12): Bush 5, Gray 2, Eisen 2, Hill 2, Brooks
Turnovers (11): Brooks 5, Gray 2, Eisen, Bush, Fields, Hill
Halftime Score: Cuesta 36, Moorpark 34
End of Regulation: Tied at 85
End of 1st Overtime: Tied at 92
Updated Records: Moorpark (#11-South) 20-8, 9-3 in WSC-N; Cuesta (t-#12-South) 22-9, 8-4 in WSC-N
Moorpark led 32-22 after an 11-1 run, but Cuesta wiped that lead out before halftime.
There were 17 lead changes and 14 ties in the 2nd half, and neither team led by more than 4.
There were 23 lead changes and 22 ties in game, the last tie at 100-100 with 2:29 left in OT #2.
Moorpark scored the last 10 points of the game, highlighted by 2 three-pointers by Gray.
