SF Rafael Love had 27 pts, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 11 seconds left as College of the Canyons won a key game against Santa Monica despite letting an 18-point lead slip away.
With the score tied at 77, SG Brad Wyche drove through the lane and threw a less than accurate pass to Love in the left corner. But Love not only caught the ball, but immediately launched a 3-point shot that swished through the net to rescue the Cougars after the big lead got away.
This game was also an eerie parallel to the women's game played earlier in the evening in which Canyons rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat Santa Monica. The Corsair men's team nearly turned the tables, rallying from the exact same deficit before finally coming up just short.
For much of the game, it didn't look like Canyons (11-9, 2-3) would need any such late-game heroics. The Cougars jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first 3:20 and pushed the margin to ten on a Love 3-pointer at the 14-minute mark. Two free throws by PG Roman Delgado made it 22-11 midway through the first half.
Santa Monica (11-8, 2-2) cut the deficit to five points at 22-17, but then Canyons went on a 12-0 run to push the lead to 17 at 34-17 with 5:16 left in the first half. A driving lay-up by Love made it 38-20.
The Corsairs answered with a 10-0 run to get back in the game, cutting the deficit back to eight points at 38-30. The teams exchanged 3-pointers in the final 35 seconds of the half with SF Tyler Barber making it 41-30 for the Cougars but PG Eric Hayes hitting a three at the buzzer to make it 41-33 at the break.
Canyons pushed the lead back to double digits at 47-35 early in the second half, but then Santa Monica gradually chipped away at the deficit. A basket by PF Travis Damuth made it a 6-point game at 55-49, and SF Johnell Young made it 59-54 with a free throw with 10:03 left. Two Damuth free throws after a steal made it 63-60 with 7:40 left, and two free throws by Young with 7:07 left made it 63-62.
Santa Monica finally took its first lead of the game on a jumper by SG Lee Lark with 6:23 left that made it 64-63. The lead went back and forth several times, but Santa Monica took a 70-67 lead on a 3-pointer by Young at the 4-minute mark. A three by Damuth made it 75-71 with 2:20 remaining.
Canyons tied it on a basket by Love from Wyche - a preview of the winning shot - off an inbounds play with exactly two minutes to go. Ctr Esvan Middleton made two free throws for Santa Monica with 1:47 left, but Love answered with two free throws for Canyons with 1:30 left, again tying the score at 77.
Canyons got the ball back on a steal by PF Wesley Bartole with 1:15 left. Wyche forced a jumper as the shot clock ran out, and Middleton got the rebound for Santa Monica, but he was called for traveling as he fell to the floor, giving Canyons the ball back with 35 seconds left.
As the clock passed the 15-second mark, Wyche drove and kicked to Love, who broke the 77-all tie with his 3-pointer. Santa Monica still had time to answer, but Damuth lost the ball along the sideline for a turnover with 4 seconds left. On the inbounds play, Love was fouled with 3 seconds left, and he made two free throws to make it 82-77 and finally put the game back in the refrigerator - as the immortal Chick Hearn would say - for the Cougars.
Love finished with 27 pts, 7 rebs, 2 asts and 2 steals, scoring 21 points in the second half. Ctr Ronald Harris had 14 pts, 5 rebs and 3 blocked shots, and Bartole had 13 pts, 8 rebs, 3 asts and 4 steals. PG Jawhar Purdy had 12 pts on 5-for-5 from the floor and added 5 asts.
For Santa Monica, the duo of Damuth and Young led the comeback and were the top players against Canyons. Young had 17 pts, 15 in the second half, and Damuth had 16 pts and 5 rebs. PF Anthony Harris Jr. also came off the bench and had 11 pts and 7 rebs. The Santa Monica starters combined for just 14 points but the bench took up the slack, scoring 63 and nearly pulling off the unlikely comeback win.
box score
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 - 7 pm
at College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita
WSC-South
Santa Monica Corsairs 77:
3-Julian Wheeler, SF - 0/2 fg, 0/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 0 pts
5-Donte Bowie, PG - 1/4 fg, 1 reb, 4 ast, 1 pf, 3 pts
10-Jesse Armstrong, PF - 0/1 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 stl, 1 pf, 1 pt
12-Lee Lark, SG - 2/10 fg, 2/4 ft, 3 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 6 pts
22-Esvan Middleton, C - 1/2 fg, 2/2 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 4 pf, 4 pts
34-Travis Damuth, F - 5/8 fg, 3/5 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 16 pts
1-Johnell Young, F - 4/7 fg, 8/10 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 17 pts
2-Shannon Stroud, G - 3/6 fg, 0/1 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 8 pts
14-Anthony Harris Jr., F - 4/7 fg, 2/4 ft, 7 reb, 1 stl, 2 pf, 11 pts
24-Jerome Hatchette, F - 3/5 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 8 pts
21-Eric Hayes, G - 1/4 fg, 1 stl, 1 pf, 3 pts
0-Nicholas Norton, F - 1 ast, 0 pts
23-Bo Abrams, C - 3 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 24/56 fg (.429), 19/32 ft (.594), 31 reb, 17 ast, 1 blk, 12 stl, 23 pf, 77 pts
3-pt fg (10): Damuth 3, Stroud 2, Bowie, Young, Harris, Hatchette, Hayes
Flagrant I foul: Damuth
Technical Foul: Young
Turnovers (13): Armstrong 3, Lark 2, Middleton 2, Damuth 2, Young 2, Bowie, Stroud
Canyons Cougars 82:
4-Rafael Love, SF - 7/12 fg, 12/14 ft, 7 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 27 pts
24-Wesley Bartole, PF - 3/8 fg, 6/9 ft, 8 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl, 3 pf, 13 pts
25-Ronald Harris, C - 6/10 fg, 2/4 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk, 1 pf, 14 pts
31-Brad Wyche, SG - 1/3 fg, 3 reb, 6 ast, 3 pf, 2 pts
34-Jawhar Purdy, PG - 5/5 fg, 0/1 ft, 1 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 12 pts
10-Roman Delgado, G - 0/3 fg, 3/4 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 4 pf, 3 pts
42-Tyler Barber, F - 3/6 fg, 4 reb, 3 pf, 8 pts
15-Lionel Poole, F - 2 reb, 1 ast, 0 pts
44-John Green, C - 1 reb, 2 pf, 0 pts
5-Brian Harris, G - 1/1 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 pf, 3 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 26/48 fg (.542), 24/34 ft (.706), 39 reb, 19 ast, 3 blk, 7 stl, 24 pf, 82 pts
3-pt fg (6): Purdy 2, Barber 2, Love, Bartole
Turnovers (22): Purdy 8, Love 4, Bartole 3, Wyche 3, Barber 2, R.Harris, Green
Halftime Score: Canyons 41, Santa Monica 33
Updated Records: Canyons 11-9, 2-3 in WSC-South; Santa Monica 11-8, 2-2 in WSC-South
Canyons led by 18 at 38-20 with 3:45 left in the 1st half. Santa Monica went on a 10-0 run to get back in the game. Canyons led by 12 at 47-35 early in the 2nd half. Santa Monica took a 64-63 lead with 6:23 left. Love's 3-pointer with 11 seconds left broke a 77-all tie and his 2 FTs with 3 seconds left clinched the win for Canyons.
