Ctr Jerome Habel had a monster game with 29 pts and 21 rebs and #9 San Bernardino Valley (18-9, 6-2) shot 60% from the floor in a 91-71 win over host Rio Hondo (7-17, 2-6) Saturday afternoon in Whittier.
Habel outrebounded the entire Rio Hondo team by himself; his 21 boards topped the Roadrunner team total of 20. And the teams combined for a 52% shooting percentage, meaning there were relatively few rebounds available. Habel garnered 32% of the combined total of 66 rebounds in the game. And on the offensive end, he made 12 of 15 shots from the field for his game-high 29 points.
But the game was quite competitive, and closer than the final score would indicate. Only in the last few minutes did SBVC expand on what was an 8-12 point lead for most of the afternoon.
In the first half, Rio Hondo had little trouble breaking the SBVC press, and trailed by just 4 at halftime despite the hot shooting and superior rebounding of the Wolverines. Rio Hondo shot 54% from the floor with just 5 turnovers in the half. But SBVC shot 59% and outrebounded the Roadrunners, 22-8. Habel had 11 of SBVC's 22 first-half boards.
But in the second half, SBVC's superior size and athleticism gradually wore down Rio Hondo. After Rio Hondo Ctr Damonte Smith cut the SBVC lead to 2 at 44-42 in the opening seconds of the half, SBVC went on 14-2 run to open up a 14-point lead. Rio Hondo cut that margin back to 9 at 62-53 after a three by SF Matt Chagolla, and to 8 at 63-55 after a pair of free throws by PF Gregory Snowden midway through the half.
But that was as close as the Roadrunners would get. A jam by SF Jamar Smith restored the double-digit lead at 65-55, and the margin was never in single digits again. A FG+FT 3-point play by PF Tommie Posey pushed the lead to 11 at 74-63 with just under 6 minutes remaining. Then a one-hand runner by SG DeWayne Pettus pushed the lead to 12 at 76-64, and a steal & jam by Smith with just over 5 minutes left made it 78-64. By then, SBVC was in control of the game.
Despite the 1 pm scheduled starting time, it took until nearly 2 pm before Habel grabbed a single rebound. That's because the game officials apparently weren't notified of their assignment and had to be called in; the game began with two officials just before 2 pm. The third official joined the crew a couple of minutes into the game. And all the extra shooting practice in the teams' extended warmups seemed to pay off though as the teams shot a combined 57% in the first half.
In any case, for SBVC, Habel not only posted strong scoring and rebound totals, but also had 4 asts and 4 steals. Smith flirted with a triple-double with 15 pts, 8 rebs and 8 asts (he flirted with a quadruple-double if one looks at the 9 turnovers - ouch). Posey came off the bench to add 15 pts. Pettus had 13 pts. PG Jacob Letson had 6 pts plus 8 asts and just 2 turnovers.
One down note for SBVC was when PF Chris Adams injured his right ankle with 8:58 left in the game. He appeared to land on it awkwardly, and had ice on it after the game. Adams had a strong game with 11 pts and went diving over the players' bench twice in the first half to retrieve loose balls without injury only to tweak the ankle after blocking a shot.
For Rio Hondo, it was a balanced attack as PF Vernon Covington led the Roadrunners with 13 pts. SG Jabir Jinna managed 11 pts but was a focus of the SBVC defense and shot just 3-of-15 for the game; he also had 4 rebs and 4 asts. SF Uriahn Barragan also had 11 pts plus 3 steals. PF Rashon Haralson came off the bench and added 7 pts plus a team-high 6 rebs and 3 steals. PG Travis Crow had 5 pts and a team-high 5 asts with just 1 turnover.
The win moves SBVC to 6-2 in the Foothill Conference and in sole possession of second place. Rio Hondo falls to 2-6 but after their upset win over Mt. San Jacinto on Wednesday and their strong showing against a physically superior SBVC team this afternoon, they are definitely on the upswing.
box score
Saturday, January 28, 2006 - 2 pm
at Rio Hondo College, Whittier
Foothill Conference
San Bernardino Valley Wolverines 91:
1-DeWayne Pettus, SG - 5/8 fg, 3/4 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 3 pf, 13 pts
5-Chris Adams, PF - 5/10 fg, 4 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 11 pts
14-Jamar Smith, SF - 7/14 fg, 0/2 ft, 8 reb, 8 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 4 pf, 15 pts
32-Jerome Habel, C - 12/15 fg, 5/7 ft, 21 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl, 2 pf, 29 pts
44-Jacob Letson, PF - 2/6 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 8 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 6 pts
23-Remon Littlejohn, G - 1 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 0 pts
40-Tommie Posey, F - 6/8 fg, 3/6 ft, 5 reb, 2 pf, 15 pts
45-Davon Davis, C - 1/1 fg, 2 pts
12-Brent Humphrey, G - 0/1 fg, 1 ast, 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 38/63 fg (.603), 13/21 ft (.619), 46 reb, 25 ast, 4 blk, 9 stl, 21 pf, 91 pts
3-pt fg (2): Adams, Smith
Turnovers (24): Smith 9, Habel 5, Pettus 2, Letson 2, Littlejohn 2, Posey 2, Adams, Davis
Rio Hondo Roadrunners 71:
2-Jabir Jinna, SG - 3/15 fg, 4/4 ft, 4 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 11 pts
4-Uriahn Barragan, SF - 3/8 fg, 4/6 ft, 1 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 1 pf, 11 pts
11-Travis Crow, PG - 2/3 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 5 pts
23-Damonte Smith, C - 2/2 fg, 1 reb, 1 pf, 4 pts
32-Vernon Covington, PF - 5/9 fg, 3/4 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 13 pts
14-Gregory Coronado, G - 2/7 fg, 2 reb, 4 ast, 2 pf, 4 pts
50-Murshon Moore, C - 0/2 fg, 1 reb, 1 stl, 2 pf, 0 pts
44-Rashon Haralson, F - 3/5 fg, 1/1 ft, 6 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 2 pf, 7 pts
33-Matt Chagolla, F - 3/4 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 9 pts
41-Gregory Snowden, F - 2/2 fg, 3/4 ft, 1 reb, 2 pf, 7 pts
3-Kevon Branch, F - 0 pts
5-Mike Lee, G - 0/1 fg, 0 pts
22-Andrew Gowing, G - 0 pts
team rebounds: 1
Totals: 25/58 fg (.431), 18/23 ft (.783), 20 reb, 20 ast, 1 blk, 12 stl, 20 pf, 71 pts
3-pt fg (3): Jinna, Barragan, Chagolla
Turnovers (16): Coronado 4, Jinna 3, Covington 2, Haralson 2, Barragan, Crow, Smith, Chagolla, Snowden
Halftime Score: SBVC 44, Rio Hondo 40
Updated Records: SBVC 18-9, 6-2 in FHC; Rio Hondo 7-17, 2-6
