SF Van Holloway scored 23 pts including 7 three-pointers, and PF Dequan Green scored 22 pts on 10-for-10 from the floor as visiting Bakersfield edged #11 Mt. San Antonio, 78-75, Tuesday night in a non-conference game in Walnut.
Bakersfield (8-4) nursed a short lead through most of the second half after taking a 35-32 lead in the first minute after halftime. A 10-2 run that began and ended with Holloway 3-pointers gave the Renegades a 49-41 lead, and though Mt. SAC (7-4) stayed close the rest of the way, the Mounties never quite caught up.
Bakersfield took a 9-point lead at 75-66 with 35.6 seconds remaining in the game, and missed enough free throws after that to make the finish of the game interesting without actually letting Mt. SAC have a realistic chance to catch up. After the Mounties closed the gap to 2 points at 77-75 with 3.4 seconds left, Bakersfield PG Lawrence Moore split two free throws with 1.7 seconds left to make it 78-75. He missed the second, but Mt. SAC was out of timeouts so PG Darryl Henry had no alternative after grabbing the rebound but to heave a 3/4-court desperation shot at the buzzer, which was far off the mark.
Mt. San Antonio held a slim 32-31 lead at halftime despite the fact that the Mounties' leading scorer, SG John Haywood played just over a minute and left without scoring after picking up two charging fouls. But the Mounties outrebounded the smaller Renegades, 27-14, and scored 5 putback baskets, including one by PF Adriel McGee with about 30 seconds left to take a 1-point halftime lead.
Bakersfield got baskets from SG Corey McDonald-Mitchell and Green in the first minute of the second half to take a 35-32 lead, and never trailed again. Mt. SAC tied the score at 37 on a bank-shot by SF Alfred Brown, and the score was tied again at 39 after Haywood scored on a driving lay-up.
Holloway broke the 39-all tie with a 3-pointer, and that began a 10-2 run that saw Bakersfield lead, 49-41, after another Holloway three, his 5th of the game. Mt. SAC got a spark from SG Samuel Holmes who stole an inbounds pass moments after entering the game, hit a jumper from the free throw line and finally missed on a lay-up that 6-11 Ctr Thomas Cowan slammed home to cut the deficit to 51-48. But the Renegades pushed the lead to 10 points at 59-49 after another Holloway three with 7:07 left in the game.
Mt. SAC chipped away at the deficit, getting within four points at 62-58 on a 3-point play by Haywood after a steal with 4:38 left. Holloway responded with his 7th 3-pointer for Bakersfield, but Mt. SAC drew within three points at 65-62 when Haywood tipped in a rebound of his own miss with 2:47 left. The Mounties trailed by 3 points again at 66-63 after a free throw by PF Stephaun Branch with exactly two minutes to play.
Bakersfield seemed to put the game away after that after a pair of baskets by Green and 4 free throws by Moore, making it 75-66 with 35.6 seconds to go. But then Moore missed 3 of 4 free throws, and both Haywood and Branch scored for Mt. SAC to make it 75-70 with 16.4 seconds left. McDonald-Mitchell made 2 free throws for Bakersfield to make it 77-70, but PG Daniel Thompson scored on a driving lay-up for Mt. SAC to make it 77-72 with 12.6 seconds left. Then McDonald-Mitchell missed a pair of free throws.
As the clock wound down, Henry tried a 3-pointer from the right corner that missed, but he was fouled on the play and made all 3 free throws with 3.4 seconds left to make it 77-75. But by now both teams were out of timeouts. Mt. SAC had no choice but to foul, and Moore made a free throw with 1.7 seconds left to make it 78-75. And though he missed the second, Mt. SAC had no time for anything other than Henry's desperation heave.
For Bakersfield, Holloway led all scorers with 23 pts, including 7 threes, which came on 8-for-14 from the floor, and he also dished out a game-high 5 asts. Green was perfect from the floor for his 22 pts, and he added 7 rebs, 3 asts, 2 steals and a blocked shot. Moore had 21 pts, including a pair of threes, plus 4 rebs and 3 asts.
For Mt. SAC, none of the starters scored in double digits but Haywood came off the bench for 12 pts, all in the second half. And Branch, who bears more than a passing resemblance to longtime NBA forward Aaron Williams, had a Williams-like performance of 15 pts and a game-high 15 rebs, while also grabbing a game-high 3 steals. SG Shadrach Earby had 9 pts, 4 rebs and 3 asts, and Brown also had 9 pts. Cowan came off the bench for 8 pts, 9 rebs and 2 blocked shots.
box score
Tuesday, December 17, 2013 - 5 pm
at Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut
Bakersfield Renegades 78:
3-Lawrence Moore, PG - 4/12 fg, 11/18 ft, 4 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 3 pf, 21 pts
5-Van Holloway, SF - 8/14 fg, 0/2 ft, 2 reb, 5 ast, 23 pts
21-Corey McDonald-Mitchell, SG - 2/10 fg, 4/6 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 1 pf, 8 pts
23-Dequan Green, PF - 10/10 fg, 1/1 ft, 7 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 3 pf, 22 pts
42-Enoilio Silfa, C - 0/1 fg, 1/4 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 4 pf, 1 pt
11-Davonte Cleveland, G - 0/1 fg, 0/1 ft, 1 ast, 1 pf, 0 pts
25-Alex Daniels, F - 1/2 fg, 1/2 ft, 4 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 1 pf, 3 pts
22-Isaiah Cooper, G - 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 3 pf, 0 pts
33-Steven Contreras, C - 0 pts
15-Mike Young, G - 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 0 pts
1-Michael Marcus, G - 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 25/51 fg (.490), 18/34 ft (.529), 31 reb, 16 ast, 4 blk, 4 stl, 17 pf, 78 pts
3-pt fg (10): Holloway 7, Moore 2, Green
Turnovers (12): Holloway 5, Daniels 3, Moore 2, Green, Cleveland
Mt. San Antonio Mounties 75:
4-Daniel Thompson, PG - 1/4 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 4 pf, 4 pts
11-Shadrach Earby, SG - 1/7 fg, 7/8 ft, 4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 5 pf, 9 pts
20-Alfred Brown, SF - 4/12 fg, 3 reb, 1 stl, 4 pf, 9 pts
25-Steven Watkins, C - 0/1 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 2 blk, 2 pts
42-Adriel McGee, PF - 2/3 fg, 2/4 ft, 3 reb, 1 stl, 6 pts
23-John Haywood, G - 5/14 fg, 2/3 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 5 pf, 12 pts
32-Stephaun Branch, F - 7/11 fg, 1/2 ft, 15 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 3 pf, 15 pts
33-Brandon Touhey, F - 1/2 fg, 1 reb, 2 pts
12-Michael Walker, F - 0/8 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 2 pts
3-Darryl Henry, G - 0/3 fg, 3/3 ft, 3 reb, 1 stl, 3 pf, 3 pts
50-Thomas Cowan, C - 4/9 fg, 9 reb, 2 blk, 1 pf, 8 pts
24-Samuel Holmes, G - 1/2 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 stl, 3 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 26/76 fg (.342), 22/28 ft (.786), 53 reb, 9 ast, 6 blk, 10 stl, 26 pf, 75 pts
3-pt fg (1): Brown
Fouled Out: Earby 25.3 seconds left, Haywood 16.4 seconds left
Turnovers (10): Haywood 3, Thompson 2, Ewarby 2, Branch, Henry, Cowan
Halftime Score: Mt. San Antonio 32, Bakersfield 31
Updated Records: Bakersfield 8-4, Mt. San Antonio (#11-South) 7-4
Bakersfield went on a 10-2 run to lead 49-41 and led the rest of the way.
Mt. SAC got within 3 with 2:47 left and trailed by 2 in the final seconds but never quite caught up.
