PF Rogdrick Craig scored 25 points and grabbed 7 rebounds to lead #7 San Jose (12-2) to a 72-62 win over host #10 Foothill (9-5) Thursday night in Los Altos Hills.
Craig scored 16 of his points in the second half as the Jaguars overcame a deficit of 7 points at the break and 10 points early in the second half to post the win.
It was a tale of two halves as Foothill shot 44% with 5 threes in the first half but just 27% with 1 three in the second half. Meanwhile, SJCC shot 34% in the first half but 48% in the second half.
PG Kevin Ochoa got Foothill off to an excellent start by stealing a pass and going in for the lay-up in the game's opening seconds. Ochoa would continue his strong play all night, finishing with 9 points on 4/6 shooting and an amazing 8 steals. Foothill built an early 11-8 lead after a driving lay-up by SG Sam Obando.
But San Jose recovered quickly, going on an 11-0 run to take a 19-11 lead as PG Dave Smith scored 6 points and Craig added 3. PG Jamon Hill also had a jumper for a basket during the run.
Then, however, Foothill stabilized and went on an 8-0 run to re-take the lead on a free throw by SG Vic Esposto. The Owls held that lead the rest of the half, going ahead 36-29 at the break on a jumper by PF Khori Sandifer.
And to start the second half, Foothill pushed the lead to 45-35 after a pullup jumper by Obando.
But from that point on, San Jose took over the game. The Jags outscored the Owls 34-9 to take a commanding 69-54 lead into the final minutes.
Ctr Sean Maxwell got it started with a jumper, and Craig threw down a loud dunk to pull the Jags within a point at 45-44. A short jumper by Smith put SJCC in the lead moments later at 46-45. Then Hill added a pair of free throws after Foothill SF J.J. Cannizzaro picked up his fourth foul with 8:13 left, giving SJCC a 48-45 lead. And PF Michael Dyson added 2 free throws after PF Mark Campbell's fourth foul 9 seconds later, making it 50-45.
Foothill tried to rally with a FG+FT 3-point play by Esposto, but then SJCC got 6 points after 3 different steals to push the lead to 56-48. A pullup three by Obando cut the margin to 5 at 56-51, but that was Foothill's last meaningful basket. Another steal brought a basket by SG Craig Williams that pushed SJCC's lead to double digits at 64-53, and Craig scored on a putback moments later to make it 66-53 with just 2:33 left, ending any doubt about the game's outcome.
In addition to Craig, standouts for SJCC included Hill (12 pts, 5 asts) and Smith (10 pts, 6 rebs, 3 steals) as well as Williams (8 pts, 5 rebs, 3 steals).
For Foothill, Cannizzaro led Owl scorers with 17 pts (3 threes) while Obando added 15 pts (3 threes) and 3 asts. Esposto had 8 pts and a game-high 9 rebs.
box score
Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 7 pm
at Foothill College - Los Altos Hills
San Jose Jaguars 72:
12-Jamon Hill, PG - 3/12 fg, 5/6 ft, 3 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 12 pts
24-Giovonne Woods, SG - 2/6 fg, 2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 4 pts
22-Craig Hunter, SF - 0/2 ft, 4 reb, 1 ast, 0 pts
50-Rogdrick Craig, PF - 7/11 fg, 11/17 ft, 7 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 25 pts
54-Julio Feliciano, C - 0/3 fg, 3 reb, 0 pts
10-Dave Smith, G - 3/11 fg, 4/4 ft, 6 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 10 pts
34-Craig Williams, G - 3/7 fg, 2/2 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 3 stl, 8 pts
40-Sean Maxwell, C - 2/3 fg, 1 reb, 4 pts
42-Jerry Cotton, F - 1/2 fg, 3 reb, 2 pts
44-Michael Dyson, F - 3/4 fg, 2/2 ft, 4 reb, 8 pts
20-Khion Tate, F - 0 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 24/59 fg (.407), 24/33 ft (.727), 41 reb, 13 ast, 3 blk, 12 stl, 72 pts
3-pt fg (0): none
Fouled Out: Williams 0:32.0 left
Turnovers (16): Hill 4, Feliciano 3, Smith 3, Craig 2, Woods, Williams, Maxwell, Dyson
Foothill Owls 62:
11-Kevin Ochoa, PG - 4/6 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 8 stl, 9 pts
13-Vic Esposto, SG - 2/9 fg, 4/5 ft, 9 reb, 1 ast, 8 pts
12-J.J. Cannizzaro, SF - 3/11 fg, 8/10 ft, 4 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 17 pts
32-Mark Campbell, PF - 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 0 pts
22-Joey Toboni, C - 1/6 fg, 2/2 ft, 7 reb, 1 blk, 4 pts
33-Khori Sandifer, F - 2/3 fg, 5 reb, 4 pts
44-Thomas Gallagher, C - 0 pts
3-Sam Obando, G - 5/13 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 15 pts
4-Mario Mendoza, G - 1/2 fg, 3/6 ft, 1 reb, 5 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 18/51 fg (.353), 20/27 ft (.741), 36 reb, 9 ast, 3 blk, 10 stl, 62 pts
3-pt fg (6): Cannizzaro 3, Obando 3
Turnovers (23): Esposto 9, Obando 4, Taboni 3, Ochoa 2, Campbell 2, Cannizzaro, Sandifer, Gallagher
Halftime Score: Foothill 36, San Jose 29
Updated Records: San Jose 12-2, Foothill 9-5
