SG Manuel Menchaca had 22 pts and PG Travis Crow added 17 and 5 asts to lead host Rio Hondo (2-7) to a 75-66 win over Santa Monica (4-7) in a consolation semifinal Friday afternoon in the Roadrunner Round-Up.
Menchaca had 4 of the Roadrunners’ 9 threes, including back-to-back triples that gave Rio Hondo a 52-44 lead midway through the second half. And that just continued a 23-9 run that saw the Roadrunners break open a close game and race out to a 14-point lead.
Early on, Santa Monica took the lead, going ahead, 19-11 on the strength of standout PG Noah Gottlieb. The freshman from Venice knocked down a three and then scored after a feed from SF Eric Berman to make it 19-11 midway through the first half.
But Rio Hondo rallied, finishing the half on an 8-0 run and taking a 34-30 lead at intermission. Santa Monica led, 30-26, until a three by Crow and a steal & basket by Menchaca put Rio Hondo ahead late in the half. And a three by PG Adam Ross extended the Roadrunner lead to 34-30 at the break.
In the second half, Rio Hondo clung to a narrow lead early on but Santa Monica pulled even at 42 after a putback basket by Ctr Arthur Braswell just less than 6 minutes into the half. But that would be the last time the Corsairs would be tied in the game.
Rio Hondo went back in front on a basket by Ctr David Evans on a feed from Menchaca, which turned out to be the first score of the 23-9 run that saw the Roadrunners open a 14-point lead with just over 5 minutes left in the game.
Santa Monica rallied a bit late, closing the gap to 7 points at 71-64 with 33.1 seconds left after another three by Gottlieb. But Rio Hondo SF Matt Chagolla, Menchaca and Ross each made a pair of free throws down the stretch to preserve the win for the Roardrunners.
Menchaca led Roadrunner scorers with 22 pts, including 4 threes. Crow added 17, including 3 threes, and a game-high 5 asts. Evans came off the bench to chip in with 12 pts. Starting Ctr Pierre Baker had 6 pts and a game-high 12 rebs. A key to the Roadunners’ success was their amazing free throw shooting: they made 20 of 21 free throws in the game including 16 of 16 in the second half.
For Santa Monica, Gottlieb led the way with 26 points, including 5 threes, and 3 asts. Braswell had 14 pts and 9 rebs, while Berman had 13 pts, 7 rebs and 3 asts.
box score
Friday, December 8, 2006 - 3 pm
Roadrunner Round-Up @ Rio Hondo College, Whittier
Consolation Semifinal #2
Santa Monica Corsairs 66:
1-Don Choi, SG - 1/3 fg, 2 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 1 pf, 2 pts
11-Noah Gottlieb, PG - 10/20 fg, 1/5 ft, 3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 26 pts
21-Arthur Braswell, C - 6/9 fg, 2/2 ft, 9 reb, 3 blk, 3 pf, 14 pts
33-Eric Berman, SF - 5/12 fg, 3/6 ft, 7 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 1 pf, 13 pts
34-Montelle Williams, PF - 1/1 fg, 8 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 pf, 2 pts
3-Keivan Cross, G - 2/5 fg, 1 ast, 4 pf, 5 pts
15-Dennis DeTwamassi, F - 0/1 fg, 5 reb, 1 pf, 0 pts
10-Derek Williams, G - 1/4 fg, 0/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 2 pts
44-Boran Rajcic, C - 0/4 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 2 pts
team rebounds: 1
Totals: 26/59 fg (.441), 8/17 ft (.471), 38 reb, 16 ast, 4 blk, 7 stl, 18 pf, 66 pts
3-pt fg (6): Gottlieb 5, Cross
Turnovers (19): Gottlieb 5, Braswell 3, Berman 3, Cross 3, Choi 2, M.Williams 2, DeTwamassi
Rio Hondo Roadrunners 75:
11-Travis Crow, PG - 4/11 fg, 6/6 ft, 5 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 2 pf, 17 pts
23-Greg Snowden, PF - 1/3 fg, 2 reb, 2 ast, 5 pf, 2 pts
33-Matt Chagolla, SF - 2/9 fg, 4/4 ft, 7 reb, 4 ast, 9 pts
44-Manuel Menchaca, SG - 8/20 fg, 2/3 ft, 1 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 22 pts
55-Pierre Baker, C - 2/6 fg, 2/2 ft, 12 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl, 2 pf, 6 pts
2-Adam Ross, G - 1/4 fg, 2/2 ft, 4 reb, 3 ast, 2 pf, 5 pts
22-Ruben Catani, F - 0/1 fg, 1 pf, 0 pts
24-Mychael Hamner, 1/1 fg, 3 reb, 1 stl, 4 pf, 2 pts
50-David Evans, C - 4/6 fg, 4/4 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 12 pts
41-Carl Clark, G - 0/2 fg, 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 23/63 fg (.365), 20/21 ft (.952), 41 reb, 18 ast, 2 blk, 9 stl, 17 pf, 75 pts
3-pt fg (9): Menchaca 4, Crow 3, Chagolla, Ross
Fouled Out: Snowden 1:30 left
Turnovers (14): Chagolla 3, Hamner 3, Crow 2, Menchaca 2, Snowden, Baker, Clark, team
Halftime Score: Rio Hondo 34, Santa Monica 30
Updated Records: Rio Hondo 2-7, Santa Monica 4-7
