#7-ranked Chaffey saw a 17-point lead slip away, and it took two overtimes, but in the end the Panthers outlasted Cypress, 101-96, in a thrilling first-round game at the Fullerton College Classic Wednesday night.
For the game's first 25 minutes, it looked like Chaffey (2-0) would have an easy time of it. The Panthers jumped out to a quick 14-4 advantage following back-to-back threes by Alfred Brown. Cypress cut the deficit to four points at 16-12, but then Chaffey pulled away, building a 44-33 lead at the half and pushing the margin to 17 points following two thunderous dunks by Chris Edward that made it 57-40 with just under 16 minutes left in the second half.
But that was just the beginning of it all. The lead never got past 17 points, and Cypress (1-1) gradually got back in the game. A three by Nolan Kelly cut the margin to 11 points with 6:25 left in the half, and then Kelly scored after a steal by O'Shae Williams moments later to cut the deficit to single digits. A basket by Tyler Williams brought the Chargers within six points at 69-63 with 4:30 left in the half.
And then the battle was on. A long three by Kelly with 3:50 left in the half made it 71-66. Then Tyler Williams converted a 3-point play to bring Cypress within two points at 71-69. Finally, another 3-point basket by Kelly gave Cypress its first lead since the opening minute of the game, putting the Chargers ahead, 74-73, with 1:34 to go in regulation.
After that, the game went back and forth not just for the last 94 seconds but another ten minutes after that. After Chaffey tied the game, Cypress took a 76-74 lead on two free throws by Kelly. Then Edward tied it on a putback, and Mateu Vilakazi gave Chaffey a 78-76 lead with 16.5 seconds showing on the clock. Tyler Williams made two free throws with 7.6 seconds left in regulation time to tie the score and send the game to overtime.
In the first overtime, Cypress took an 82-78 lead after a free throw by Zachary Perez. More troubling for Chaffey was that Edward fouled out on the play. But the Panthers battled back, tying the score at 84. Cypress took an 88-86 lead on two free throws by O'Shae Williams with 29.7 seconds to go, but A.J. Kirkwood, Edward's replacement, scored on a putback with 14.2 seconds left in the first overtime, tying the game and sending it to a second overtime.
In the second OT Kelly tied the score for Cypress with a 3-pointer with a minute to go. But then Brown made a pair of free throws to put Chaffey in front with 55 seconds left. And that proved to be the final lead change of the game. Donavan Taylor made three free throws in the final 26.4 seconds as Cypress missed three shots and had to foul in the aftermath each time. When Kelly fouled out with 13.5 seconds left and Taylor made his final free throw, Chaffey finally had the hard-fought victory.
For Chaffey, Edward had a double-double with a team-high 19 pts on 7-for-8 from the floor plus 13 rebs. But this was truly a team victory. His replacement, Kirkwood, also had a double-double with 12 pts and 13 rebs. Victor Joseph had 15 pts, a team-high 7 asts and 3 steals. Third guard Chadney Dennis came off the bench for 12 pts and Brown had 11. Vilakazi had 10 pts as six different Panthers scored in double figures and three more scored at least seven points.
For Cypress, Kelly poured in a game-high 30 pts, including 7 three-pointers. The two Williamses came off the bench and led the comeback, with Tyler finishing with 20 pts, 7 rebs and 3 blocks, and O'Shae totalling 17 pts, 9 rebs, 7 asts and 4 steals. Austin Payne started and had 14 pts, 5 rebs, 5 asts and 2 steals.
box score
Wednesday, November 11, 2015 - 5:30 pm
Fullerton College Classic - First Round
Chaffey Panthers 101:
1-Brian Beard, SG - 2/7 fg, 3/5 ft, 4 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl, 5 pf, 7 pts
2-Victor Joseph, PG - 5/22 fg, 5/6 ft, 4 reb, 7 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 3 pf, 15 pts
5-Mateu Vilakazi, PF - 3/5 fg, 4/4 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 5 pf, 10 pts
20-Alfred Brown, SF - 3/7 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 stl, 3 pf, 11 pts
32-Chris Edward, C - 7/8 fg, 5/6 ft, 13 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 5 pf, 19 pts
10-Chadney Dennis, G - 3/7 fg, 6/6 ft, 5 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 12 pts
22-Donavan Taylor, F - 2/6 fg, 3/5 ft, 3 reb, 2 stl, 1 pf, 8 pts
11-A.J. Kirkwood, C - 4/6 fg, 4/4 ft, 13 reb, 1 pf, 12 pts
24-Kameron Curl, G - 0/2 fg, 1 ast, 0 pts
4-C.D. Wright, F - 3/4 fg, 1 reb, 7 pts
team rebounds: 7
Totals: 32/74 fg (.446), 32/39 ft (.821), 56 reb, 18 ast, 4 blk, 10 stl, 26 pf, 101 pts
3-pt fg (5): Brown 3, Taylor, Wright
Fouled Out: Beard 7.6 seconds left in 2nd half, Edward 3:18 left in 1st OT, Vilakazi 1:45 left in 2nd OT
Cypress Chargers 96:
3-Zachary Perez, PG - 0/7 fg, 2/4 ft, 1 reb, 6 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 5 pf, 2 pts
5-Nolan Kelly, SG - 9/17 fg, 5/8 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 5 pf, 30 pts
24-Austin Payne, PF - 5/15 fg, 2/4 ft, 5 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 4 pf, 14 pts
32-Jordan Fleck, SF - 3/8 fg, 3/4 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 2 tl, 5 pf, 9 pts
52-Joshua Currenton, C - 1/2 fg, 3 reb, 3 pf, 2 pts
4-O'Shae Williams, F - 5/8 fg, 7/12 ft, 9 reb, 7 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl, 3 pf, 17 pts
44-Tyler Williams, C - 9/13 fg, 2/5 ft, 7 reb, 3 blk, 2 stl, 4 pf, 20 pts
15-Xavier Harris, G - 0/1 fg, 1 ast, 0 pts
21-Israel Barrera, G - 0/2 fg, 2 pf, 0 pts
45-Brian Robbs, F - 1 stl, 0 pts
1-Chez Lister, G - 1/3 fg, 0/1 ft, 6 reb, 3 ast, 1 pf, 2 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 33/76 fg (.434), 21/38 ft (.553), 42 reb, 24 ast, 6 blk, 15 stl, 32 pf, 96 pts
3-pt fg (9): Kelly 7, Payne 2
Fouled Out: Fleck 2:22 left in 2nd OT, Perez 26.4 secs left in 2nd OT, Kelly 13.5 secs left in 2nd OT
Turnovers (17): Kelly 4, Fleck 3, Perez 2, Currenton 2, Payne, O.Williams, Harris, Barrera, Robbs, team
Halftime Score: Chaffey 44, Cypress 33
End of Regulation: Tied at 78
End of First Overtime: Tied at 88
Updated Records: Chaffey (#7-South, #14-Calif) 2-0, Cypress 1-1
Chaffey led 57-40 with under 16 minutes left after two powerful dunks by Edward.
Cypress rallied to take a 74-73 lead on a Kelly three with 1:34 left in regulation.
T.Williams made 2 FTs with 7.6 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 78.
Cypress led 84-80 midway through the first overtime, Cypress' largest lead of the game.
Kirkwood scored on a putback with 14.2 seconds left in the 1st OT to tie the score at 88.
Brown broke a 96-96 tie with 2 FTs with 55 seconds left in the 2nd OT.
Taylor made 3 of 5 FTs in the final 26.4 seconds of OT #2 to help clinch the win for Chaffey.
