LA Valley overcame a horrendous first half to slip past COC, 61-55, at Valencia on Saturday. PG Rodney Billups led the Monarchs with 14 pts and he sparked a key rally early in the 2nd half that got LAVC back within striking distance. PFs Blake Walker and Midwin Francis each finished with 9 pts and 8 rebs, and PG James Mitchell tossed in 11 pts to help Valley overcome a 12-point halftime deficit.
The first half was ugly on both sides. For the half, COC shot 40% from the field, missed 5 of 9 FTAs and committed 9 turnovers--and led by 12. The numbers were even uglier for Valley: 4-23 on FGs (17%), 3-9 on FTs, 7 turnovers and just 12 pts. At intermission, the Cougars led, 24-12.
The lead would reach 16 for COC early in the 2nd half before LAVC started chipping away. Billups' 6 pts and 3 steals during a 3-minute stretch brought Valley to within 4 at 34-30, and Mitchell's 3 with just over 8 mins left tied it at 41. Francis' putback with just over 6 mins left gave LAVC their first 2nd-half lead at 46-45 and that was part of a 9-3 run that put the game in the Monarch's hands. In the 2nd half, Valley shot 59% from the field and scored 49 pts.
SF Dax Grooms had a big night statistically with 18 pts, 9 rebs, 4 asts and 3 steals (but also 8 turnovers) for COC. SG Matt Nelsen tied Grooms for game honors with 18 pts, and C David Hungerford grabbed 7 rebs for the Cougars.
Unofficial Box Score:
Saturday, January 26, 2002
at the Cougar Cage, Valencia
Western State Conference
Los Angeles Vallley Monarchs 61:
4-Rodney Billups, PG - 4/8 fg, 5/6 ft, 1 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl, 14 pts
24-Ryan Abrahams, SG - 3/8 fg, 1/1 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 7 pts
30-Blake Walker, PF - 3/5 fg, 3/10 ft, 8 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 9 pts
32-Neverson White, SF - 3/10 fg, 5 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 6 pts
35-Albert Stickland, C - 0/2 fg, 3 reb, 0 pts
12-James Mitchell, G - 2/6 fg, 5/6 ft, 2 ast, 2 stl, 11 pts
42-Nate Wilson, C - 1/4 fg, 2/4 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 4 pts
10-Alex Cabagnot, G - 0/1 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 pt
33-Midwin Francis, F - 4/6 fg, 1/6 ft, 8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 9 pts
team rebounds: 7
Totals: 20/50 fg (.400), 18/35 ft (.514), 36 reb, 11 ast, 0 blk, 15 stl, 61 pts
3-pt fg (3): Mitchell 2, Billups
Turnovers (15): Abrahams 3, White 3, Walker 2, Mitchell 2, Wilson 2, Francis 2, team
College of the Canyons Cougars 55:
12-Murat Yildiz, PG - 1/3 fg, 1/2 ft, 3 reb, 3 ast, 4 pts
23-Matt Nelsen, SG - 7/16 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 18 pts
32-Dax Grooms, SF - 6/20 fg, 6/10 ft, 9 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl, 18 pts
33-Ricardo Suazo, PF - 2/4 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 6 pts
42-David Hungerford, C - 0/1 fg, 2/2 ft, 7 reb, 2 pts
30-Carlos Escoto, F - 1/2 fg, 0/1 ft, 1 reb, 1 stl, 3 pts
11-DeWayne Taylor, G - 1/2 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 3 pts
40-Krishna Evans, C - 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 pt
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 18/48 ft (.375), 15/23 ft (.652), 36 reb, 11 ast, 1 blk, 5 stl, 55 pts
3-pt fg (4): Nelsen 2, Yildiz, Escoto
Turnovers (21): Grooms 8, Yildiz 3, Nelsen 3, Suazo 3, Hungerford 2, Escoto, Taylor
Halftime Score: COC 24, LAVC 12
Updated Records: LAVC 21-5, COC 10-13
COC led by as many as 16 (at 30-14 early in the 2nd half). LAVC rallied to tie at 41 with just over 8 mins left and took their first lead of the 2nd half at 45-44 with just over 6 mins left. In the first half LAVC shot 17% from the floor (4-23) and 33% from the line (3-9), which explains how they fell behind. They shot 59% (16-27) in the 2nd half, which explains how they came back to win.
