Ismail Ali had 18 pts and 8 asts, and Shelton Boykin had 17 pts and 11 rebs as #9 Antelope Valley edged host #12 Canyons 83-76 Wednesday night in the opening game of what promises to be a most competitive WSC-South conference season.
With Antelope Valley (13-4, 1-0) coming off winning the Chabot tournament in Northern California, Canyons (8-6, 0-1) recently having won the Santa Rosa tournament and both teams ranked in the top dozen in Southern California (according to the most recent CCCAA poll), this opening-night showdown figured to set the tone for the WSC-South race.
Canyons came out strong, taking a 22-16 lead midway through the first half. But Antelope Valley gradually rallied, tying the score at 31 with 4:23 left in the half and taking a 35-33 lead when Boykin scored on a putback with just under three minutes to go before the break. The lead went back and forth the rest of the half, with Coley Apsay tying the score at 39 with a free throw with 4.5 seconds left.
But that proved to be enough time for Ali to dribble up the court and launch a 25-foot 3-pointer just ahead of the horn to give the Marauders a 42-39 advantage at the break. And AVC maintained that lead throughout the second half to come away with a hard-fought victory.
Early in the second half, AVC pushed its lead to six points when Ali scored on a runner to make it 45-39. And by then COC's Tulio Parry was already on the bench, having picked up his fourth foul of the game. A 3-pointer by Tim Gilmore pushed AVC's lead to 48-41, and Lawrence White scored on a driving lay-up to make it 50-41. A steal by Izayah Doyle led to two free throws by White to give the Marauders a 54-43 advantage with 16:37 remaining.
Then the teams traded baskets for the next 13-plus minutes, with AVC maintaining a lead of between 9 and 11 points the whole time. The Marauders held an 11-point lead a half-dozen times before Parry, back on the floor, brought COC within 7 points off a pass from Riley Honaker for a basket with 3:20 left to make it 74-67.
Apsay made a pair of free throws with exactly three minutes left to bring the Cougars within five points at 74-69. But that's as close as COC would get, and Apsay would foul out with 1:07 remaining. Canyons was still just five points back after a basket by Brenden Otero off a pass from Brodric Smith with 20 seconds to go, but Boykin made two more free throws - from four attempts - in the final 16.3 seconds to clinch the win for AVC.
Ali led the Marauders with his 18 pts, which came on 6-for-9 from the floor and included a pair of 3-pointers. He also added 5 rebs, 8 asts and a steal with just one turnovers in a very strong performance. Boykin posted the game's only double-double with 17 pts and a game-high 11 rebs. Recent UC-Davis commit White chipped in with 14 pts on 5-for-7 from the floor, and Julius Bilbrew came off the bench for 11 pts.
For Canyons, Otero scored 18 pts on 5-for-7 from the floor and 7-for-10 from the line while adding 6 rebs and 3 asts. Apsay had 12 pts, 5 asts and 3 steals. Parry managed 11 pts and a team-high 8 rebs despite the foul trouble, and Ricardo Greaves had 10 pts on 4-for-4 from the floor.
box score
Wednesday, January 7, 2015 - 5 pm
at College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita
WSC-South
Antelope Valley Marauders 83:
2-Lawrence White, PF - 5/7 fg, 3/4 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 14 pts
5-Adrian Francis, SG - 2/6 fg, 3/5 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 8 pts
12-Izayah Doyle, C - 0/1 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 reb, 2 stl, 3 pf, 1 pt
20-Ismail Ali, PG - 6/9 fg, 4/6 ft, 5 reb, 8 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 18 pts
21-Tim Gilmore, SF - 3/6 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 pf, 9 pts
32-Tajee Shaw, C - 0 pts
23-Shelton Boykin, F - 7/13 fg, 3/8 ft, 11 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl, 2 pf, 17 pts
33-Aaron Jones, C - 0/1 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 3 pf, 0 pts
10-Kamal Holden, G - 2/4 fg, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 4 pts
1-Julius Bilbrew, G - 5/11 fg, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 11 pts
11-Kenneth KJ Moffett, F - 0/1 fg, 1/2 ft, 5 pf, 1 pt
3-Brandon Ruffin, F - 0/1 fg, 0/1 ft, 1 blk, 3 stl, 3 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 30/60 fg (.500), 15/28 ft (.536), 36 reb, 14 ast, 4 blk, 13 stl, 30 pf, 83 pts
3-pt fg (8): Gilmore 3, Ali 2, White, Francis, Bilbrew
Fouled Out: Moffett 8:45 left
Turnovers (17): White 3, Boykin 3, Doyle 2, Gilmore 2, Holden 2, Ali, Shaw, Bilbrew, Moffett, Ruffin
Canyons Cougars 76:
10-Coley Apsay, PG - 3/9 fg, 5/6 ft, 2 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl, 5 pf, 12 pts
31-Victor Nwaba, SG - 2/10 fg, 0/2 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 5 pf, 4 pts
34-Tulio Parry, SF - 4/11 fg, 2/2 ft, 8 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 4 pf, 11 pts
41-Brenden Otero, C - 5/7 fg, 7/10 ft, 6 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 18 pts
44-Ricardo Greaves, PF - 4/4 fg, 1 reb, 2 stl, 2 pf, 10 pts
14-Jalen Ewell, F - 0/2 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 0 pts
15-Brodric Smith, G - 1/4 fg, 4/6 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 7 pts
20-Riley Honaker, G - 1/3 fg, 2/3 ft, 2 reb, 5 ast, 2 pf, 4 pts
24-Chance Cole, F - 3/7 fg, 1/2 ft, 6 reb, 1 ast, 7 pts
25-Danny Bettis, F - 0/1 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 2 pts
42-Nick Howard, C - 0/1 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 pt
30-Garrett Mike, F - 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 23/59 fg (.390), 24/35 ft (.686), 39 reb, 19 ast, 1 blk, 8 stl, 21 pf, 76 pts
3-pt fg (6): Greaves 2, Apsay, Parry, Otero, Smith
Technical Foul: bench (player not listed in scorebook)
Fouled Out: Apsay 1:07 left, Nwaba 16.3 seconds left
Turnovers (18): Apsay 4, Greaves 3, Honaker 3, Nwaba 2, Parry 2, Otero, Smith, Bettis, team
Halftime Score: Antelope Valley 42, Canyons 39
Updated Records: Antelope Valley (#9-South, #17-Calif) 13-4, 1-0 in WSC-S; Canyons (#12-South) 8-6, 0-1
COC led 22-16 midway through the 1st half.
Ali hit a long three just ahead of the halftime horn to give AVC a 42-39 lead.
AVC led by between 9 & 11 points from 16:37 left until the 3:20 mark.
Canyons got within 5 at 74-69 with 3 minutes left, but no closer.
