SF Garrett Nevels scored 23 pts and PG Corey Allen had 17 pts plus 8 asts and 6 steals to lead #3 Mt. San Antonio to an 80-68 win over #13 Antelope Valley in a regional quarterfinal in Walnut Saturday evening.
The teams battled on mostly even terms for 33 minutes, and Mt. San Antonio (25-3) actually trailed by as many as 9 points late in the first half. But as the game wore on, Antelope Valley (20-9) wore down under the intense pressure of the Mounties' defense, which forced 26 AVC turnovers.
Mt. SAC took its first lead of the second half during a sequence of three consecutive steals by Allen, which led to a free throw by Ctr Christian Cooper, a putback basket by Nevels and a pair of free throws by Allen that gave Mt. SAC a 53-50 lead with 12:23 left.
AVC battled back from that deficit and held a 60-58 lead after a pair of free throws by SG Lucciano Gamiz with 7:38 to go. But then Mt. SAC went on a 16-4 run to re-take the lead and finally take control of the game.
Early on, Antelope Valley kept pace and even pushed out to a 9-point lead. Mt. SAC held a 20-16 advantage after a basket by Ctr Cliff Sims after a steal by PG Shadrach Earby midway through the first half. But the Marauders wnet on a 16-4 run, taking a 32-24 lead after a 3-pointer by SF Daviyon Draper with 6:12 left in the first half. A baseline jumper by PG Joseph Prince made it 37-28 a few minutes later.
Mt. SAC closed the gap to four points at the break to trail, 41-37. And though AVC got a 3-pointer from Draper to start the second half, Mt. SAC quickly erased most of the deficit to trail by just three points at 46-43. Nevels' putback after the second of Allen's three consecutive steals put Mt. SAC ahead, 51-50.
The lead went back and forth several times over the next few minutes until a slam dunk by Nevels off a pass from SG John Haywood on a fast break gave Mt. SAC a 62-60 lead with about 7 minutes to go. Haywood had tied the game with a basket moments earlier, and moments after his pass to Nevels he threw an outlet pass to Allen for a lay-up that made it 64-60.
A steal & lay-up by Allen made it 68-62 with 5:52 left. PF Andrew Ortiz made it 72-64 with a basket from in close with just over 4 minutes to play. Haywood scored on a fast break lay-up with 3:35 left to make it a 10-point game at 74-64. Ortiz scored off a pass from PG Hakeem Nance on a backdoor cut at the end of the shot clock with 1:25 left to make it 78-66, effectively clinching the win for Mt. SAC.
Nevels and Allen were Mt. SAC's top scorers, as usual, but they had plenty of help in this game as they accounted for just half of Mt. SAC's points. Haywood had 12 pts, 3 rebs, 3 asts and a steal, and Ortiz had 9 pts on 4-for-5 from the floor. PF Christian Mays made all 3 of his shots for 6 pts and Nance had 5 pts and 5 asts off the bench.
For Antelope Valley, Draper and Gamiz each scored 16 pts, with Gamiz connecting on 5 of his 7 field goal attempts and adding 3 steals. PG Michaelyn Scott had 12 pts plus a team-high 7 asts and 3 steals. And Ctr Dwan Caldwell had 10 pts, 5 rebs and 5 blocked shots, leading an AVC shot-blocking committee that swatted away 11 Mt. SAC attempts. But the Marauders committed 26 turnovers, and Mt. SAC shot 58% from the field for the game (and a remarkable 73% on shots that weren't blocked).
With the win, Mt. SAC advances to the regional semifinal and will host College of the Canyons on Wednesday at 5:30. Antelope Valley finishes 20-9.
box score
Saturday, March 2, 2013 - 5:30 pm
at Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut
Playoffs - Regional Quarterfinal
Antelope Valley Marauders 68:
11-Daviyon Draper, SF - 6/11 fg, 2/3 ft, 1 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 16 pts
12-Michaelyn Scott, PG - 3/11 fg, 5/8 ft, 4 reb, 7 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 1 pf, 12 pts
20-Lucciano Gamiz, SG - 5/7 fg, 4/4 ft, 2 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 3 pf, 16 pts
21-Vadal Faniel, PF - 2/5 fg, 7 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl, 3 pf, 4 pts
42-Dwan Caldwell, C - 5/10 fg, 5 reb, 5 blk, 10 pts
24-Larry Slaughter, F - 3/3 fg, 3 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl, 1 pf, 6 pts
1-Joseph Prince, G - 1/2 fg, 1 ast, 1 pf, 2 pts
2-Terrance Berry, F - 0/1 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 3 pf, 0 pts
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32-John Washington, C - 0/1 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 25/51 fg (.490), 13/17 ft (.765), 28 reb, 16 ast, 11 blk, 11 stl, 15 pf, 68 pts
3-pt fg (5): Draper 2, Gamiz 2, Scott
Turnovers (26): Draper 5, Scott 5, Gamiz 5, Slaughter 4, Berry 4, Faniel, Caldwell, Washington
Mt. San Antonio Mounties 80:
3-Andrew Ortiz, PF - 4/5 fg, 1 reb, 1 pf, 9 pts
12-Corey Allen, PG - 5/11 fg, 7/8 ft, 2 reb, 8 ast, 6 stl, 3 pf, 17 pts
23-Christian Cooper, C - 1/2 fg, 2/4 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 4 pts
25-Garrett Nevels, SF - 10/13 fg, 2/4 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 23 pts
33-John Haywood, SG - 6/8 fg, 3 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 12 pts
32-Christian Mays, F - 3/3 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 6 pts
4-Hakeem Nance, G - 1/5 fg, 3/6 ft, 1 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 5 pts
22-Cliff Sims, C - 2/7 fg, 2 reb, 4 pf, 4 pts
24-Shadrach Earby, G - 0/1 fg, 2 stl, 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 8
Totals: 32/55 fg (.582), 14/22 ft (.636), 26 reb, 21 ast, 1 blk, 14 stl, 15 pf, 80 pts
3-pt fg (2): Ortiz, Nevels
Technical Foul: Haywood
Turnovers (15): Allen 5, Nevels 2, Mays 2, Earby 2, Cooper, Haywood, Nance, team
Halftime Score: Antelope Valley 41, Mt. San Antonio 37
Updated Records: Mt. San Antonio (#3-seed) 25-3, Antelope Valley (#13-seed) 20-9
AVC led by as many as 9 points (37-28) in the 1st half.
Mt. SAC took its first lead of the 2nd half at 51-50. It was last tied at 60.
Nevels scored on a slam dunk with just under 7 minutes left to give Mt. SAC a lead; Mt. SAC led the rest of the way.
AVC shot 38% from the floor with 15 turnovers in the 2nd half.
