SG Eric Nelson scored 23 pts and PG Treyvon Johnson had 20 pts and 5 steals as #14 LA City (18-9, 5-2) topped host #10 LA Trade Tech (19-9, 5-2), keeping its hopes of at least a share of a 14th consecutive SCC-North Division title alive.
It was a physical, playoff-type battle between two strong, talented teams. But City went on a 9-0 run after it was tied 16-16 to take a lead it would hold the rest of the way. Trade Tech fell behind by as many as 14 points in the second half before rallying late, but never completely wiped out the deficit. The Beavers cut the margin to 4 points late in the game but could get no closer, and ended up losing by just 6 because SG Marquis Dubose banked home a 30-foot 3-pointer as the final buzzer sounded.
Trade Tech led, 7-4, in the opening minutes of the game for what turned out to be its biggest lead of the game after a nice inside move by Ctr Rico Myles. But a three by Johnson put City in front, 12-11. Trade Tech tied the game at 16 after a three by PF Fernando Forde, but then City scored the next 9 points to go ahead, 25-16. A jumper by Ctr Jay Brown after a rebound, a basket by PF Ricky Gallagher after a feed from SF Rudy Smith, a FG+FT 3-point play by Nelson and a basket by PF Perry Baggett after a nice pass from Nelson accounted for the Cubs points during the run. After a steal & basket by SG Joseph Morgan of Trade Tech, Nelson converted another FG+FT 3-point play to push Citys lead to 10 at 28-18.
Trade Tech rallied to cut the margin to just 3 points at 33-30 after baskets by Dubose and Forde late in the first half, but City got a jumper from Nelson, a basket by Johnson after a steal by Smith and a long 2-point jumper by Johnson to push the lead back to 9 at 39-30. Another basket by Forde, this one after a pass from Ctr Imari Thomas, brought Trade Tech to within 7 points at 39-32 at the half. And when the second half began, Trade Tech cut the lead to just 3 points after a putback basket by PF Louis Hamilton and a basket by Morgan.
But then City pulled away again, going on a 24-8 run to push the lead to 14 points at 60-46. A driving lay-up by Johnson and a mini-hook shot by Baggett got the run started. A driving lay-up by Nelson pushed the margin to 9 at 49-40, and a free throw by Brown after an offensive rebound pushed the lead to 10 at 54-44. A short jumper by Smith made it 62-47 with just over 9 minutes left in the game.
Trade Tech brought the home fans to life with an acrobatic one-handed dunk by Morgan on a lob from PG Jeffery Bryant with 8:36 left. The skywalking Morgan was fouled on the play and made a free throw to make it 62-50. And Trade Tech continued to cut into the lead, slicing the margin to 8 points at 65-57 after a pair of free throws by Myles and to 6 points at 65-59 after a basket by Hamilton with 5:53 remaining. And then Thomas scored to make it 65-61.
But then City pulled away again, this time for good. A spin-o-rama move by Johnson resulting in a lay-up made it 67-61, and a pair of free throws by Nelson (on which Hamilton of Trade Tech fouled out) made it 69-61 with 4:55 left. Then a free throw by Johnson made it 70-61 with 3:57 remaining. And then after a Johnson steal, Brown scored on a third-chance opportunity to push the lead to 72-61. A driving lay-up by Nelson made it 74-61.
Trade Tech hung around, cutting the lead to 9 at 76-67 after baskets by Dubose and Morgan, and cut the margin to 8 at 78-70 with exactly one minute left after a three by Dubose. But a pair of free throws by SG Valiant Jones and a FG+FT 3-point play by SF Owen Brow on a breakaway iced the game for the Cubs.
Nelson came off the bench and led all scorers with his 23 pts, and Johnson, making his first-ever start at point guard, had a huge game for the Cubs as well. Baggett, making his first start of the year, chipped in with 11 pts. And Jay Brown played a strong game inside, finishing with 9 pts and a game-high 10 rebs but playing even better than those numbers might indicate.
For Trade Tech, Morgan led the way with 16 pts and 6 rebs. Dubose had 13 pts off the bench. PG Charlando Brown had a solid game with 11 pts and a game-high 5 asts. Myles managed 11 pts despite battling foul trouble seemingly all night, and Hamilton had just 9 pts before fouling out with 4:55 left.
Now both City and Trade Tech are 5-2 in SCC-North Division play, a game behind first-place Compton. Trade Tech travels to Compton for its last game of the season, and a win by the Beavers could result in a three-way tie for the division championship. City and Trade Tech split their two games with the visiting team winning each time.
box score
Wednesday, February 7, 2007 7:30 pm
at LA Trade Tech
South Coast Conference North Division
LA City Cubs 83:
0-Treyvon Johnson, PG 8/16 fg, 2/5 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl, 20 pts
5-Valiant Jones, SG 0/1 fg, 5/6 ft, 3 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 5 pts
11-Rudy Smith, SF 3/8 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 8 pts
33-Perry Baggett, PF 4/5 fg, 3/4 ft, 3 reb, 5 pf, 11 pts
40-Jay Brown, C 4/8 fg, 1/2 ft, 10 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 5 pf, 9 pts
2-Eric Nelson, G 7/15 fg, 9/11 ft, 6 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 23 pts
34-Ricky Gallagher, F 2/3 fg, 2 reb, 2 ast, 4 pf, 4 pts
22-Owen Brow, F 1/1 fg, 1/3 ft, 3 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 29/57 fg (.509), 23/33 ft (.697), 31 reb, 16 ast, 2 blk, 8 stl, 22 pf, 83 pts
3-pt fg (2): Johnson 2
Fouled Out: Baggett 5:53 left, Brown 0:23 left
Turnovers (13): Johnson 3, Smith 3, Baggett 2, Brown 2, Nelson 2, Jones
LA Trade Tech Beavers 77:
13-Joseph Morgan, SG 7/11 fg, 2/3 ft, 6 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl, 4 pf, 16 pts
21-Charlando Brown, PG 4/7 fg, 3/4 ft, 3 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 2 pf, 11 pts
24-Rico Myles, C 4/8 fg, 3/5 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 4 pf, 11 pts
33-Tariff Purdom, SF 0/1 fg, 1 blk, 0 pts
44-Louis Hamilton, PF 3/3 fg, 3/5 ft, 3 reb, 3 ast, 5 pf, 9 pts
31-Omari Thomas, C 2/3 fg, 1 ast, 5 pf, 4 pts
11-Marquis Dubose, G 5/10 fg, 1/1 ft, 3 ast, 1 blk, 4 pf, 13 pts
34-Fernando Forde, F 3/5 fg, 3 reb, 1 blk, 7 pts
25-Enrique Marshall, F 1/2 fg, 2 reb, 1 pf, 2 pts
15-Jeffery Bryant, G 1/2 fg, 2/5 ft, 2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 4 pts
team rebounds: 8
Totals: 30/52 fg (.577), 14/23 ft (.609), 32 reb, 18 ast, 6 blk, 5 stl, 28 pf, 77 pts
3-pt fg (3): Dubose 2, Forde
Technical Foul: Hamilton
Fouled Out: Hamilton 4:55 left, Thomas 0:06 left
Turnovers (21): Hamilton 6, Morgan 4, Brown 4, Bryant 2, Myles, Purdom, Thomas, Dubose, Forde
Halftime Score: LA City 39, LA Trade Tech 32
Updated Records: LA City (#14-South) 18-9, 5-2 in SCC-N; LA Trade Tech (#10-South) 19-9, 5-2 in SCC-N
