Brandon Baker scored 4 of his game-high 18 pts in overtime as #12 Santa Monica turned back an incredible effort by an undermanned Canyons squad and escaped with a 70-65 win Saturday in Santa Clarita.
Santa Monica (16-5, 5-3) held a 17-point lead with 4:33 in the 2nd half and still led by 10 with under 1:40 left in regulation against a Canyons team that is down to just 8 players after injuries and defections. But the Cougars frantically rallied in the final 98 seconds, tying the score when Caden Bradley scored on a driving lay-up with 5.4 seconds left in regulation time, sending the game to a most unlikely overtime.
In OT, Baker split two free throws in the first minute and added a 3-pointer a bit later to put the Corsairs in control. Isiah Ajiboye added 2 free throws with 6 seconds left to push the Santa Monica lead to 5 and finally clinch what, for much of the evening, appeared to be an uneventful win for the Corsairs.
The game was played on even terms for the first few minutes, and Canyons tied the score at 11 after a 3-pointer by Victor Nwaba with just over 14 minutes left in the first half. Santa Monica had taken a 9-4 lead after back-to-back threes by Duncan Douglas and Baker, but the Cougars kept it close.
Then Santa Monica began to pull away, scoring the game's next 5 points to lead, 16-11. A three by Carter Gallo made it 21-13, and Michael Garcia Jr. scored on a driving lay-up to make it 24-15. Brandon Crawford scored off a pass from Baker to stretch the lead to 11, and Nicholas Smiley scored after a nifty reverse spin move to make it 28-15. Erron Vaughn's driving lay-up gave SMC a 30-14 lead with just over 2 minutes left in the first half. A 3-point play by Ajiboye made it 40-24 at the break.
When the second half started, Baker split two free throws to give Santa Monica a 41-24 lead. That, however, was one of the few things that went right in the first 9-plus minutes of the half for Santa Monica as the Corsairs went 0-for-3 on field goals, 3-for-6 on free throws and mixed in 8 turnovers until Baker made a three with 10:05 left in the half.
By that time, Canyons was able to get back in the game, cutting the deficit to just 3 points at 42-39 with 12:20 left in the half. After Baker's three, James Chevious answered with a three for the Cougars to make it 46-42 with 9:22 to go in the half.
Then Santa Monica pulled away again, going on a 14-1 run to push its lead back to 17 points. A three by Ajiboye restored the Corsairs' 10-point lead, and Vaughn added 2 free throws a bit later to make it 54-42. A Baker three gave Santa Monica a 57-43 advantage, and Ajiboye followed with another three to make it 60-43 with 4:33 remaining in the second half.
But somehow, despite having just 8 players available and one of those, Jalen Ewell, fouling out with 2:40 left, Canyons managed to rally and force overtime.
It was still a 10-point game and Santa Monica had the ball until Harrison Haynes stole it, was fouled and made a free throw with 1:38 left to make it 61-52. Then after a steal by Alex Sanchez, Chevious scored to make it 61-54 with 57.9 seconds left. Then Chevious stole the ball back, which led to a basket by Haynes to make it 61-56.
After Vaughn split two free throws for SMC, Canyons drew closer when Chevious scored on a driving lay-up with 29.2 seconds left to make it 62-58. Then Chevious drew a charging foul on Baker, turning the ball back to the Cougars with 27 seconds to go. Nwaba drained a three with 18.7 seconds left to cut the margin to a single point. Vaughn was fouled with 15.5 seconds left and again split two free throws, giving Santa Monica a 63-61 lead.
Canyons coach Howard Fisher used his last timeout to set up the final play, but as the clock started winding down forward/center Caden Bradley found himself with the ball beyond the right elbow and nobody to pass to. With little alternative, Bradley drove towards the basket and scored the game-tying basket with 5.4 seconds left to send the game to a most unlikely overtime.
After that frantic rally in which Canyons scored 12 points in the final 1:38 of regulation time, the exhausted Cougars managed just 2 points in overtime. Still, the Cougars had a chance to tie or even take the lead after getting the ball on a Santa Monica turnover with 19.6 seconds left in overtime. But a Canyons turnover with 6.6 seconds left turned the ball back over to Santa Monica, and Ajiboye's free throws with 6 seconds left finally clinched the win for the Corsairs.
Baker led all scorers with 18 pts for Santa Monica, and that included 5 three-pointers. He also had 5 rebs, 3 asts and 2 steals. Ajiboye came off the bench for 13 pts, and Smiley had a double-double with 12 pts and a game-high 10 rebs.
For Canyons, Chevious and Nwaba each scored 16 pts and Ewell had 15. Nwaba made 4 three-pointers and also had 6 rebs, 3 asts, 2 steals and a blocked shot. Haynes had 9 pts, 6 rebs and a game-high 6 asts.
The win keeps Santa Monica tied for 2nd in the ever-competitive WSC-South. The loss drops Canyons to 0-8 in division play.
box score
Saturday, January 30, 2016 - 5 pm
at College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita
WSC-South
Santa Monica Corsairs 70:
1-Michael Garcia Jr., PG - 2/6 fg, 3/6 ft, 2 ast, 3 stl, 2 pf, 7 pts
5-Nicholas Smiley, PF - 4/5 fg, 4/5 ft, 10 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 12 pts
10-Brandon Baker, SG - 5/11 fg, 3/6 ft, 5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 2 pf, 18 pts
11-Brandon Crawford, C - 2/2 fg, 3 reb, 2 blk, 3 stl, 2 pf, 4 pts
21-Duncan Douglas, SF - 1/7 fg, 3/4 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 1 pf, 6 pts
12-Isiah Ajiboye, F - 4/9 fg, 3/3 ft, 1 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl, 3 pf, 13 pts
0-Erron Vaughn, G - 1/2 fg, 4/6 ft, 3 ast, 3 pf, 6 pts
15-Carter Gallo, G - 1/3 fg, 1 reb, 2 pf, 3 pts
4-Ricky Bryant, G - 1/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 pt
24-Jordan Starling, G - 0 pts
team rebounds: 7
Totals: 20/45 fg (.444), 21/32 ft (.656), 31 reb, 11 ast, 5 blk, 13 stl, 18 pf, 70 pts
3-pt fg (9): Baker 5, Ajiboye 2, Douglas, Gallo
Turnovers (21): Baker 5, Vaughn 4, Douglas 3, Ajiboye 3, Garcia 2, Crawford 2, Smiley, Bryant
Canyons Cougars 65:
14-Jalen Ewell, C - 7/12 fg, 0/2 ft, 6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 5 pf, 15 pts
15-James Chevious, SG - 5/13 fg, 4/6 ft, 1 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 5 pf, 16 pts
20-Harrison Haynes, PG - 4/5 fg, 1/2 ft, 6 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 9 pts
24-Alex Sanchez, PF - 1/8 fg, 5 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 3 pts
30-Victor Nwaba, SF - 5/16 fg, 2/2 ft, 6 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 3 pf, 16 pts
44-Caden Bradley, F - 1/5 fg, 0/1 ft, 9 reb, 1 stl, 3 pf, 2 pts
11-Jacob Tobon, G - 2/6 fg, 0/1 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 4 pts
42-Austin Greenly, C - 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 25/65 fg (.385), 7/14 ft (.500), 44 reb, 19 ast, 2 blk, 7 stl, 23 pf, 65 pts
3-pt fg (7): Nwaba 4, Chevious 2, Sanchez
Fouled Out: Ewell 2:40 left in 2nd half, Chevious 4.0 secs left in OT
Turnovers (21): Haynes 5, Nwaba 4, Chevious 3, Ewell 2, Sanchez 2, Bradley 2, Tobon 2, team
Halftime Score: Santa Monica 40, Canyons 24
End of Regulation: Tied at 63
Updated Records: Santa Monica (#12-South) 16-5 overall, 4-4 in WSC-South; Canyons 5-15 overall, 0-8 in WSC-South
Santa Monica led by 17 at 41-24 early in the 2nd half, but went 0/3 on fgs, 3/6 on fts with 8 turnovers in the 2nd half until Baker's 3-pointer with 10:05 left.
Canyons got within 3 at 42-39 with 12:20 left, but Santa Monica went on a 14-1 run to lead 60-43 with 4:33 remaining.
Canyons still trailed by 10 until a steal & free throw by Haynes with 1:38 left.
Bradley's lay-up with 5.4 seconds left in regulation tied it at 63 and sent the game to OT.
Baker scored 4 pts in OT including a 3-pointer that put SMC in control.
