Shannon Fowler scored 21 pts and Stephaun Branch scored 15 as #3 Mt. San Antonio overcame an early 19-point deficit for an 8-point win against host #6 Long Beach in a South Coast Conference crossover game on Friday night.
Both teams entered with impressive win streaks; Mt. San Antonio (21-1) arrived having won its last 7 games, while the host Vikings had won its last 9. And each is comfortably atop its division in the South Coast Conference.
For the first ten-plus minutes, it looked like Long Beach (17-5) was going to run its streak to double digits as the Vikings jumped out to a stunning 25-6 lead. A slam dunk by Chris Spencer punctuated the great start for LBCC just past the halfway mark of the first half.
Then the Mt. SAC women arrived - the undefeated women's team, that is, who entered the stands in advance of their game scheduled for 7 pm. And the energy changed dramatically for Mt. SAC, which had started the game missing 8 of its first 10 shots and committing 10 turnovers while falling behind.
Whether the Mt. SAC men wanted to avoid being embarrassed in front of the women, or if it was the women's team's vociferous cheering, things turned around almost immediately for the Mounties.
After being outscored 25-6 to start the game, Mt. SAC outscored the host Vikings, 29-6, in the remainder of the first half. Branch tied the score at 31 with a pair of free throws with 1:26 left, and scored on a putback with about 40 seconds left to give Mt. SAC its first lead of the game. Then when Branch missed his next shot, Blake Hamilton was there to score on the putback to make it 35-31 at the break.
When the second half started, the Mt. SAC surge continued, with Branch scoring after a steal about a minute in to make it 37-31. Then Malcolm Whittington drained a three - with an assist from Branch - to give the Mounties a 40-31 lead. Over about an 11-minute span, Mt. SAC outscored LBCC 34-6.
Long Beach got a 3-point play from Michael Shivers following a steal by Brandon Staton to get within five points at 40-35 with 17:21 still to play.
And then the Mt. SAC women left the gym, to prepare for what would be a blowout win.
Staton brought Long Beach within three with a 3-pointer and, then about 30 seconds later, a free throw that made it 42-39 with 16:18 left. On LBCC's next trip, Staton missed a three but 5-10 Andre Springer scored on a putback - getting past Mt. SAC's 7-foot Thomas Cowen no less - and was fouled in the process. He made the ensuing free throw to bring the Vikings within two points at 44-42 with 15:26 remaining.
But Mt. SAC never let the lead get away. Fowler scored inside to push the Mounties' lead back to double digits to make it 52-42, and pushed the margin to a dozen with two free throws with 10:35 remaining that made it 62-50. A steal & lay-up by Branch pushed the lead to 13, giving Mt. SAC a 70-57 advantage with 8:20 to go.
Long Beach made one last surge, cutting the deficit to eight points after two free throws by Staton with 5:40 left that made it 71-63. The margin was still eight when Hamilton fouled out with 4:48 remaining, and Fowler picked up his 4th foul moments later.
But Mt. SAC never let Long Beach get any closer. A baseline jumper by Samuel Holmes restored the 10-point lead with 3:05 left, making it 75-65. One last putback basket by Branch made it 78-66 with 40.6 remaining, clinching the win for Mt. SAC. LBCC got a 3-pointer and a free throw in the final seconds to get the final margin down to eight but never threatened to pull even.
Fowler led all scorers with his 21 pts, and he was very efficient in his performance, going 8-for-10 from the floor and 5-for-5 from the line. Branch filled the stat sheet with 15 pts plus a game-high 12 rebs, 4 asts, 2 blocks and 3 steals. Hamilton had 12 pts and 6 rebs as he battled foul trouble in the second half. PG Michael Peters came off the bench for a strong effort with 9 pts and 4 asts.
For Long Beach, Staton scored 20 pts - despite a 3-for-15 shooting line - and added 3 rebs and 3 steals. Spencer had 11 pts, 6 rebs, 3 asts and 5 steals. Shivers came off the bench for 16 pts, 2 rebs and 2 steals.
box score
Friday, January 30, 2015 - 5 pm
at the LBCC Hall of Champions, Long Beach
South Coast Conference
Mt. San Antonio Mounties 78:
1-Stephaun Branch, SF - 5/10 fg, 5/6 ft, 12 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk, 3 stl, 2 pf, 15 pts
10-Blake Hamilton, PF - 3/5 fg, 6/8 ft, 6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 5 pf, 12 pts
13-Lamarquis Thompson, PG - 2/6 fg, 2/3 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 4 pf, 6 pts
20-Malcolm Whittington, SG - 2/6 fg, 1/2 ft, 4 reb, 1 stl, 2 pf, 6 pts
21-Shannon Fowler, C - 8/10 fg, 5/5 ft, 8 reb, 2 stl, 4 pf, 21 pts
2-Samuel Holmes, G - 1/3 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 2 stl, 2 pf, 3 pts
5-Ryon O'Quinn, G - 0/1 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 pf, 2 pts
12-Sam Bide, F - 0/1 fg, 1 pf, 0 pts
45-Thomas Cowen, C - 1/1 fg, 2 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 2 pts
24-Adriel McGee, F - 1/2 fg, 0/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 2 pts
3-Michael Peters, G - 2/5 fg, 5/6 ft, 1 reb, 4 ast, 3 pf, 9 pts
team rebounds: 10
Totals: 25/50 fg (.500), 27/36 ft (.750), 50 reb, 13 ast, 4 blk, 10 stl, 29 pf, 78 pts
3-pt fg (1): Whittington
Intentional Foul: Holmes
Technical Foul: Branch
Ejected: Bide 40.6 seconds left (coming off bench to join a fray)
Fouled Out: Hamilton 4:48 left
Turnovers (33): Hamilton 9, Branch 6, Holmes 4, Thompson 3, Peters 3, O'Quinn 2, Whittington, Fowler, Cowen, team 3
Long Beach Vikings 70:
3-pt fg (4): Staton 2, Gaines, Springer
Halftime Score: Mt. San Antonio 35, Long Beach 31
Updated Records: Mt. San Antonio (#3-South, #5-Calif) 21-1 (8 straight wins), Long Beach (#6-South, #11-Calif) 17-5 (breaks 9-game win streak)
LBCC led 25-9 midway through the 1st half, but Mt. SAC caught up before halftime.
3-Elijah Gaines, SF - 1/7 fg, 0/2 ft, 1 reb, 2 blk, 1 pf, 3 pts
11-Chris Spencer, PF - 5/12 fg, 3/9 ft, 6 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl, 4 pf, 13 pts
15-Mena Saad, SG - 2/5 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 4 pts
21-Brandon Staton, PG - 3/15 fg, 12/16 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 20 pts
33-Davarrus Bryant, C - 3/6 ft, 4 reb , 4 blk, 4 pf, 3 pts
40-Jovan Pearson, C - 1/3 fg, 3 reb, 3 blk, 3 stl, 4 pf, 2 pts
31-Michael Shivers, F - 5/14 fg, 6/8 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 4 pf, 16 pts
1-Andre Springer, G - 2/7 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl, 4 pf, 7 pts
42-Ryan Stewart, F - 1/1 fg, 1 ast, 2 pf, 2 pts
5-Jammaal Roebuck, G - 0/1 fg, 0 pts
team rebounds: 7
Totals: 20/65 fg (.308), 26/43 ft (.605), 29 reb, 10 ast, 10 blk, 18 stl, 29 pf, 70 pts
Turnovers (20): Gaines 4, Spencer 4, Shivers 4, Statson 2, Bryant 2, Pearson 2, Saad, Springer
Mt. SAC led the entire second half, by as many as 13 points (70-57 with 8:20 left)
