DeAndre Stallings scored 31 pts, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with just under 30 seconds remaining as #15 Columbia stormed back from a 17-point halftime deficit for a stunning 85-82 victory over host #10 West Hills in a key Central Valley Conference game Wednesday night in Coalinga.
Columbia (14-7, 4-2) took its first lead since the first few minutes of the game with 1:14 left, only to watch West Hills go back in front when Stephon Gordon converted a 3-point play with 46 seconds left to give the Falcons an 82-80 lead.
Then came Stallings’ huge 3-pointer, his 7th of the game, that put the Claimjumpers in front, 83-82. West Hills (11-9, 4-2) still had a chance to tie or re-take the lead, but Romario Saunders missed a 3-pointer from the left corner. Stallings got the rebound, was fouled and made 2 free throws with 3 seconds left to make it 85-82. West Hills still had an outside chance to tie, but was out of timeouts and had to settle for Saunders’ half-court heave as the final horn sounded. The shot was right on line and hit nothing but the bottom of the net, but it was the outside of the net, which doesn’t count for any points and allowed Columbia to escape with the win.
West Hills had led 49-32 at the half and seemed in control with a 15-point lead with just over 12 minutes left in the second half and a 12-point lead with under 8 minutes to go. The Falcons had shot a sizzling 65% from the floor in the first half and, after Columbia began the game by making 6 of its first 10 shots, had kept the Claimjumpers under control.
Stallings made 2 free throws with 7:52 left to cut the deficit to 10, and Trevin Wilson followed with 2 free throws 12 seconds later after a foul that put Columbia in the bonus with 7:40 remaining. A steal by Wilson led to a basket by Bosten VanDerVeur to cut the deficit to six, and a 3-pointer by Stallings cut the margin to 5 with 6:20 left. VanDerVeur followed with a three to make it 71-69 with 5:40 left, setting up the dramatic finish.
Early on, Columbia jumped out to a 15-10 lead by trading 2-point baskets for 3-point baskets. At that point all of the Claimjumpers’ points came on their 5 3-point field goals, while all of the Falcons’ points came on their 5 2-pointers. Columbia added another three – by Stallings, of course – to push the lead to 18-10.
But then West Hills took over, going on a 15-3 run and taking a 25-21 lead midway through the first half. A basket by Elliott Hudson off a pass from Gordon tied the score at 21, and Gordon made 2 free throws with 9:49 left in the half to put West Hills in front. Saunders added 2 free throws with 9:25 left in the half to make it 25-21.
After Columbia tied the score at 24, West Hills went on a 10-0 run to take a 34-24 lead with 5:12 left in the half. That became a 20-3 extended run after back-to-back 3-pointers by Troy Arce and Anthony Zataray made it 44-27, and the Falcons held the 49-32 lead at the half.
Stallings led all scorers with his 31 pts, and his 10 rebs and 2 blocked shots were both team-highs. Michael Meserole had 17 pts, including 3 threes, 3 asts and 3 steals. VanDerVeur had 11 pts, 6 rebs and a team-high 6 asts, and Lewayne Grant had 10 pts.
For West Hills, Saunders came off the bench for a team-high 23 pts. DeQuan Doyle had 21 pts and 9 rebs. Gordon stuffed the stat sheet with 11 pts, a team-high 10 rebs, a game-high 7 asts, 2 blocks and 2 steals.
This was an extremely well-played game, with the teams combining for more 3-pointers made (21) than turnovers (19) and combining for just 2 missed free throws in 38 combined attempts.
The win creates a tie for 2nd place in the CVC between Columbia and West Hills behind first-place Fresno.
box score
Wednesday, January 27, 2016 – 6 pm
At West Hills College, Coalinga
Central Valley Conference
Columbia Claimjumpers 85:
5-Lewayne Grant, PG – 2/6 fg, 5/6 ft, 2 reb, 3 ast, 3 pf, 10 pts
11-Bosten VanDerVeur, PF – 4/11 fg, 2/2 ft, 6 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 11 pts
24-DeAndre Stallings, C – 9/20 fg, 6/6 ft, 10 reb, 2 blk, 3 pf, 31 pts
31-Trevin Wilson, SG – 2/3 fg, 4/4 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 9 pts
34-Michael Meserole, SF – 6/13 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 ast, 3 stl, 1 pf, 17 pts
25-Lonzel Lewis, G – 0 pts
23-Aaron May, F – 1/1 fg, 4/4 ft, 6 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 pf, 7 pts
3-Jake Polack, G – 0/1 fg, 1 ast, 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 24/55 fg (.436), 23/24 ft (.958), 30 reb, 15 ast, 2 blk, 7 stl, 11 pf, 85 pts
3-pt fg (14): Stallings 7, Meserole 3, Grant, VanDerVeur, Wilson, May
Turnovers (9): Meserole 3, Grant, VanDerVeur, Stallings, Wilson, May, Polack
West Hills Falcons 82:
4-Lloyd Hanna, SG – 3/7 fg, 3 reb, 4 ast, 1 pf, 8 pts
12-Stephon Gordon, SF – 2/5 fg, 7/7 ft, 10 reb, 7 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl, 3 pf, 11 pts
14-Stephen Glassco, PF – 2/5 fg, 1 reb, 3 ast, 3 pf, 4 pts
22-Troy Arce, PG – 1/5 fg, 6 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 3 pts
40-Elliott Hudson, C – 3/6 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 6 pts
23-DeQuan Doyle, C – 10/13 fg, 1/2 ft, 9 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 21 pts
10-Anthony Zataray, G – 2/7 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 6 pts
30-Romario Saunders, F – 8/16 fg, 5/5 ft, 4 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 2 pf, 23 pts
34-Sean Coleman, G – 0/2 fg, 1 reb, 0 pts
20-Malik Heath, F – 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 0 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 31/67 fg (.463), 13/14 ft (.929), 37 reb, 24 ast, 2 blk, 5 stl, 15 pf, 82 pts
3-pt fg (7): Hanna 2, Zataray 2, Saunders 2, Arce
Technical Foul: Gordon
Turnovers (10): Glassco 5, Gordon 3, Arce, Doyle
Halftime Score: West Hills 49, Columbia 32
Updated Records: Columbia (t-#15 North) 14-7, 4-2 in CVC; West Hills (#10 North, #20 Calif) 11-9, 4-2 in CVC
Columbia led 18-10 early after making 6 threes on 10 shot attempts.
West Hills went on a 15-3 run to lead, 25-21, and another 20-3 run to lead 44-27.
Columbia took its first lead of the 2nd half at 80-79 on 2 free throws by Wilson with 1:14 left.
Gordon’s 3-pt play with 46 seconds left put West Hills back in front, 82-80.
Stallings’ 7th three of the game with just under 30 seconds left gave Columbia an 83-82 lead.
After Saunders missed a three, Stallings got the rebound and added 2 FTs with 3 seconds left.
Saunders’ half-court shot was on line but hit the outside of the net as the final horn sounded.
