SG Willie Trimble had 16 pts and Ctr Jordan Richard came off the bench for a double-double, and the defense did the rest as #3-South Riverside (10-2) won its Holiday Tournament for the 10th time with a 57-43 victory over #9-North Sequoias in the championship game.
In the absence of standout PG Daniel Redmon, who suffered a sprained ankle in the semifinal, the Tigers got just enough scoring to win. And the defense made sure COS never got into a rhythm, holding the Giants to 23% shooting for the game and 14% in the second half.
The game was evenly played early, but Riverside went on an 11-0 run to break a 9-9 tie and never surrendered that lead. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Trimble - both from NBA range - made it 20-9 midway through the first half.
COS fought back, drawing to within a point at 26-25 after a pair of free throws by SF Diontea Wright with 2:05 left in the first half. But the Giants wouldn't score again in the half, and another 3-pointer by Trimble gave Riverside a 29-25 lead at the break.
The game remained close for most of the second half, with neither team able to score. A jumper by Richard from the top of the key gave Riverside a 5-point lead at 39-34 with 12:30 left. Then neither team scored until Richard made a free throw with 9:46 left to make it 40-34. A fall-away jumper by SG Donovan Buford made it 42-34 with 8:25 left, and a putback basket by Ctr Kevin Bradshaw made it 44-34 with 7:45 left.
COS finally ended its scoring drought when PF Cliff Ederaine scored on a putback with 7:21 left to make it 44-36, but that would be the Giants' only field goal for more than a 7-minute stretch of the second half.
Riverside pushed the lead back to double figures when Richard scored on a sequence that seemed to epitomize the entire second half. RCC missed a perimeter shot with an airball, but ended up with the rebound. That led to another shot, also an airball. But Richard got that rebound and scored on the putback to make it 46-36.
A pair of free throws by Richard with 6:32 left made it 48-36. Then Trimble scored on a fast break on a pass from Buford to make it 50-36 with 5:14 left. An alley-oop slam dunk by Richard on a pass from Trimble with 2:25 left made it 53-38 and punctuated the win for the Tigers.
Trimble led all scorers with 16 pts, 13 in the first half, and also had 5 rebs and 4 asts. Richard had 15 pts, 13 in the second half, plus game-highs of 11 rebs and 4 blocks. Buford chipped in with 11 pts. Bradshaw had 8 pts, 6 rebs and 2 blocks, and PG James Calhoun, starting in place of Redmon, had 5 pts, 4 asts and 8 rebs.
For Sequoias, PG Kenny McGowen had a team-high 13 pts, but it was all in the first half (he went 0-for-6 in the second half). Wright had 10 pts and 6 rebs. Ctr Rob Walters had 7 pts and 6 rebs, while Ederaine had 6 pts and a team-high 8 rebs. COS made just 4 of 28 field goal tries in the second half, the product on RCC's smothering defense as well as it being COS' fourth game in four days of the tournament.
Trimble was named tournament MVP. Bradshaw, Calhoun and Redmon were named to the all-tournament team from Riverside. McGowen and Walters made the all-tournament team from Sequoias.
box score
40th Annual Riverside Holiday Tournament
Saturday, December 12, 2009 @ Wheelock Gym, Riverside
Championship Game - 7 pm
Sequoias Giants 43:
3-Conrad Williams, SG - 0/6 fg, 4 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 0 pts
11-Kenny McGowen, PG - 4/13 fg, 3/4 ft, 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 13 pts
22-Diontea Wright, SF - 3/13 fg, 4/4 ft, 6 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 10 pts
30-Rob Walters, C - 1/2 fg, 5/6 ft, 6 reb, 2 pf, 7 pts
42-Cliff Ederaine, PF - 2/5 fg, 2/7 ft, 8 reb, 2 blk, 3 pf, 6 pts
13-Lance Reeves, G - 1/6 fg, 2 reb, 1 pf, 3 pts
50-Bernard Kamwa, C - 1/1 fg, 4 reb, 3 pf, 2 pts
5-Cedric Von During, G - 0/2 fg, 1 reb, 3 pf, 0 pts
32-Beau Smith, F - 0/4 fg, 3 stl, 1 pf, 0 pt
32-Kevin Russell, G - 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 2 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 12/52 fg (.231), 16/23 ft (.696), 35 reb, 8 ast, 2 blk, 5 stl, 17 pf, 43 pts
3-pt fg (3): McGowen 2, Reeves
Turnovers (14): Ederaine 4, McGowen 2, Kamwa 2, Williams, Wright, Walters, Reeves, Smith, Russell
Riverside Tigers 57:
2-James Calhoun, PG - 2/5 fg, 1/2 ft, 8 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 5 pts
11-Willie Trimble, SG - 5/11 fg, 3/5 ft, 5 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 16 pts
21-Orion Palmer, PF - 0/3 fg, 4 reb, 4 pf, 0 pts
22-Kevin Bradshaw, C - 3/11 fg, 2/4 ft, 6 reb, 2 blk, 4 pf, 8 pts
32-Valentine Ike, SF - 1/2 fg, 1 ast, 3 pf, 2 pts
24-Donovan Buford, G - 5/8 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 11 pts
23-Jordan Richard, C - 6/9 fg, 3/4 ft, 11 reb, 4 blk, 3 pf, 15 pts
15-Andrew Fisk, F - 0/3 fg, 0/1 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 0 pts
14-Larry Thompkins, G - 0/2 fg, 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 pf, 0 pts
13-Aaron Snyder, G - 2 reb, 1 pf, 0 pts
0-Terrel Jasper, F - 1 stl, 1 pf, 0 pts
30-Davie Champagnie, F - 1 reb, 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 22/54 fg (.407), 9/16 ft (.563), 46 reb, 13 ast, 6 blk, 4 stl, 25 pf, 57 pts
3-pt fg (4): Trimble 3, Buford
Turnovers (18): Trimble 4, Calhoun 3, Bradshaw 3, Ike 2, Buford 2, Richard 2, Thompkins, Jasper
Halftime Score: Riverside 29, Sequoias 25
Updated Records: Riverside (#3-South, #5-Calif) 10-2, Sequoias (#9-North, #17-Calif) 9-4
COS shot just 14% in the second half
PG Daniel Redmon (RCC) dnp - sprained left ankle
Trimble (RCC) was named tournament MVP. Bradshaw, Calhoun & Redmon (RCC) and McGowen & Walters (COS) were named to the all-tournament team
