PG Jalen Etienne made two free throws with 2.8 seconds left to break a 65-all tie and lift #7 Glendale to a dramatic victory over #10 LA Harbor Friday night in a Southern California regional quarterfinal game at Verdugo Gym in Glendale.
Etienne's free throws were the final points in a very evenly-played game that neither team led by more than 7 points. Glendale (22-5) held one of two 7-point advantages with 1:52 left, but saw the Seahawks rally to tie the score on a steal & basket by PF Elliot Morris with 31.2 seconds left.
Glendale also led by 7 points after making three 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the game to lead, 9-2. Then LA Harbor (21-7) called timeout, and coach Tony Carter-Loza re-set the Seahawk defense, and from that point on neither team found many easy baskets.
LA Harbor began by missing 6 of its first 7 shots, and got its first two points on a putback basket by Morris. That trend would continue, as Morris scored an amazing 7 putback baskets for the game; his only basket that didn't come as a result of an offensive rebound was his steal and lay-up that tied the game with 31.2 seconds remaining.
And after that early timeout, Harbor righted itself and rallied to tie the score at 17 on a short jumper by PG Brandon Boyd with about 7 minutes left in the first half. It was tied again at 22, but then Glendale got 5 points from its big-man tandem of PF Emmett Duvall and Gor Plavchyan to take a 27-22 lead at the half.
Harbor went with a small lineup and started pressing early in the second half, and rallied to tie the score at 29. Glendale went back in front on a 3-pointer by Etienne, but the Seahawk momentum continued as SF Dushone Brown gave Harbor a 33-32 lead with a driving lay-up with 14:16 left. SG Jamar Cannon made a 3-pointer about a minute later to give Harbor a 36-32 lead, its largest lead of the game.
Glendale responded with an 8-0 run, mostly courtesy of Duvall. The 6-6 sophomore tied the score with 2 free throws and a driving lay-up. Then he grabbed a steal that resulted in two free throws for SG Jason Moore to give the Vaqueros a 38-36 lead. Then after a Duvall rebound, Etienne scored on a driving lay-up to make it 40-36.
Harbor rallied to take a 42-40 lead on a 3-pointer by Cannon, and led four more times, the last time at 50-48 with 6:35 left following two free throws by Cannon after a technical foul on Duvall, who was upset about having to call a timeout in the backcourt after being harassed by the Seahawks.
But that seemed to fire up the Vaqueros, who took a 52-50 lead about a minute later on a slam dunk by Plavchyan. Two free throws by Duvall after a rebound made it 54-50. Then Plavchyan scored from inside to make it 56-50. Harbor got within two points at 56-54, but then SF Sammy Darling fed Duvall for a 3-point play with 2:23 left. Then Darling stole the ball back, was fouled and made two free throws with 2:03 left to make it 61-54, equalling Glendale's largest lead of the night and seemingly finally putting the Vaqueros in control.
But just 11 seconds later, Plavchyan fouled out, and SF Anthony Foster made the two resulting free throws to bring Harbor within five points. Then, after a Glendale turnover, Cannon scored on a driving lay-up to make it 61-58. Duvall and Foster traded free throws, leaving Glendale with a three-point lead, and Etienne made two more free throws with 39.8 seconds left to give the Vaqueros a 65-60 advantage.
Somehow, Foster found Brown alone behind the left elbow on the break, and Brown sank a 3-pointer to make it 65-63 with 34.4 seconds left. Then after a timeout, Glendale tried to inbound the ball, but Morris intercepted the inbounds pass near the free throw line and score to tie the game at 65 with 31.2 seconds left.
Glendale quickly inbounded the ball and got it across midcourt. Then Etienne bounced the ball near the center line as the clock ran down. With about 7 seconds left he drove down the middle of the court, past the free throw line. Foster stepped in for Harbor to try to take the charge. With 2.8 seconds left the two players collided in the lane, and the whistle blew.
The call could easily have gone either way, but the officials' decision was a blocking foul on Foster. Etienne made the resulting free throws, which ended up being the difference in the game. Cannon tried a desperation heave from beyond half-court, but his shot hit one of the lights dangling from the ceiling, ending the game and allowing the Vaqueros to escape with the win.
For Glendale, Duvall had a tremendous game with 22 pts, 10 rebs, 3 asts, 2 blocks and 3 steals. Plavchyan just missed a double-double with 16 pts and 9 rebs, and added 3 asts, 2 blocks and a steal. Etienne was just 3-for-13 from the floor but managed 14 pts, including 6-for-6 from the line, and that included the key two free throws that won the game. For the night, Glendale was 24-for-26 from the free throw line (92.3%) including 19-for-20 (95%) in the second half.
For Harbor, Cannon led all scorers with his 25 pts, which included 3 three-pointers. Morris had a double-double with 16 pts and 14 rebs in his best Buck Williams impersonation (it's a compliment - really, just google him), and also grabbed a game-high 4 steals. Foster was just 1-for-11 shooting but managed 7 pts, 8 rebs and a game-high 5 asts. Brown came off the bench for 8 pts.
The win is Glendale coach Brian Beauchemin's 592nd of his career, and advances the Vaqueros to the regional semifinal Wednesday against the winner of Saturday's game between San Bernardino Valley and Irvine Valley.
box score
Friday, February 28, 2014 - 7 pm
at Verdugo Gym, Glendale
Playoffs - Regional Quarterfinal
LA Harbor Seahawks 65:
2-Elliot Morris, PF - 8/18 fg, 14 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl, 4 pf, 16 pts
3-Brandon Boyd, PG - 0/3 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 1 pt
4-Anthony Foster, SF - 1/11 fg, 5/6 ft, 8 reb, 5 ast, 4 pf, 7 pts
5-Andre Foster, C - 1/4 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 blk, 3 pf, 3 pts
32-Jamar Cannon, SG - 7/15 fg, 8/9 ft, 3 reb, 2 stl, 1 pf, 25 pts
23-Kenneth Greene, G - 1/4 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 5 pts
55-Cary Brooks, C - 1 pf, 0 pts
1-Ronald Robinson, F - 1 reb, 0 pts
10-Dushone Brown, F - 4/13 fg, 0/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 8 pts
25-Stephen Knox, G - 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 9
Totals: 22/68 fg (.324), 17/23 ft (.739), 44 reb, 10 ast, 3 blk, 9 stl, 21 pf, 65 pts
3-pt fg (4): Cannon 3, Greene
Turnovers (11): Boyd 2, Anthony Foster 2, Morris, Andre Foster, Cannon, Greene, Brooks, Brown, Knox
Glendale Vaqueros 67:
10-Jalen Etienne, PG - 3/13 fg, 6/6 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 2 pf, 14 pts
22-Emerson Castaneda, SG - 1/7 fg, 2 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 3 pts
30-Sontiago Grady, SF - 1/3 fg, 3 reb, 3 ast, 1 pf, 3 pts
35-Emmett Duvall II, PF - 6/10 fg, 9/9 ft, 10 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk, 3 stl, 3 pf, 22 pts
45-Gor Plavchyan, C - 7/14 fg, 2/3 ft, 9 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl, 5 pf, 16 pts
24-Sammy Darling, F - 0/3 fg, 5/6 ft, 4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 5 pts
11-Jason Moore, G - 1/5 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 pf, 4 pts
40-Nick Kahn, C - 0/1 fg, 2 reb, 0 pts
team rebounds: 10
Totals: 19/56 fg (.339), 24/26 ft (.923), 44 reb, 14 ast, 6 blk, 8 stl, 15 pf, 67 pts
3-pt fg (5): Etienne 2, Castaneda, Grady, Duvall
Technical Foul: Duvall
Fouled Out: Plavchyan 1:52 left
Turnovers (15): Grady 5, Duvall 3, Etienne 2, Castaneda 2, Plavchyan, Moore, team
Halftime Score: Glendale 27, LA Harbor 22
Updated Records: Glendale (#7-seed) 22-5, LA Harbor (#10-seed) 21-7
Etienne's 2 FTs with 2.8 secs left won it for Glendale.
