Four players scored in double digits and #4 Chaffey broke open a close game with a 13-4 run in the final four-plus minutes to edge #11 Pasadena, 79-71, in a regional semifinal playoff game Wednesday night in Rancho Cucamonga, winning despite yet another stellar game from Lancer Ctr Taj Spencer.
Chaffey shot 56% from the floor in the second half after holding a 7-point lead at the break, but the score was still tied 61-61 with under five minutes to play, thanks largely to the 6-7 Spencer, who had 25 pts and 13 rebs on the night. But a nifty ball-fake and score by 5-5 PG Breejae Flonnoy sparked a 13-4 run for Chaffey and SG John Gilliam scored 9 of his 16 pts in the final 1:33 to seal the win for the Panthers.
Pasadena (21-10), seeded 11th but slotted 12th to avoid any possibility of playing conference rival and 14th seed Mt. San Antonio in the regional quarterfinal, beat highly-regarded Saddleback last Saturday to reach this game. And with Spencer scoring 12 of his team's first 14 points of the night, it looked like he might lead the visiting Lancers to another upset.
But Flonnoy's basket broke the final tie of the game, and moments later the diminutive point guard threw an outlet pass to Ctr Adom Jacko, who threw down the last of three tremendous dunks on the night, making it 65-61. After Spencer prevented Jacko from converting another dunk moments later with a foul, Jacko made two free throws to push Chaffey's lead to six at 69-63 with 2:23 left.
Spencer scored off a pass from PG Jeffrey Dockett with 1:48 left to make it 69-65 and was fouled, but he missed the resulting free throw. And Gilliam made two free throws for Chaffey 15 seconds later to make it 71-65. After Pasadena SG Jevon Shields missed a 3-pointer, Gilliam scored on a lay-up, drew a foul and converted the 3-point play with 40.1 seconds left to push the CHP advantage to 9 points at 74-65.
PF Rashad Smith banked in a 3-pointer moments later to keep Pasadena's hope alive, making it 74-68 with 31.6 seconds left. But the Lancers were forced to foul after that, and Gilliam made four straight free throws to clinch the win for Chaffey.
All that followed a first half that felt like two prizefighters feeling each other out but also saving plenty of strength for the later rounds. Spencer scored 6 points in the first 2:06, giving Pasadena a 6-2 lead and prompting a quick timeout from Chaffey coach Jeff Klein. But Chaffey quickly rallied, taking a 9-8 lead on a 3-pointer by Gilliam off a pass from Flonnoy moments after some slick ballhandling got the crowd buzzing.
Spencer put Pasadena back in front with two baskets to make it 14-13, at which point he had 12 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. But Dockett went to the bench with 2 personal fouls, and Chaffey went back in front on a steal & lay-up by Nichols and stayed there thanks to some hot shooting by SF Devyn Sampson. Sampson hit two straight 3-pointers to give Chaffey a 25-19 lead, and added 2 free throws after a loose ball foul to make it 27-19. He made another three later in the half, and pushed Chaffey's lead to 34-25 on a putback basket in the final minute of the half. Pasadena's third-string point guard, Marsalis Ellison hit a 15-foot jumper just before the halftime horn to make it 34-27 at the break.
Chaffey shot just 32% in the first half and Jacko spent much of the half on the bench with 2 personal fouls, but all that changed when the second half started. Sampson hit another three and Jacko threw down a powerful slam dunk to push Chaffey's lead to double digits at 39-29. SG Adrian Miles made a 3-pointer for Pasadena, but Sampson answered with a 3-pointer for Chaffey to make it a 10-point game again at 42-32.
But that would be Sampson's last basket, and Pasadena gradually rallied to overcome that deficit. Miles hit a fallaway jumper and a three to make it 42-37. Dockett made a three to make it 52-47, and though he went to the bench with his 4th foul with 11 minutes to go, the rally continued. Two free throws by Spencer with 10:23 left made it 54-51. PF Rashad Smith scored on a third-chance putback to make it a one-point game at 56-55, and moments later PG Brandon Joseph - in the game in Dockett's place - hit a jumper from the lane to give Pasadena a 57-56 lead with just under 8 minutes to go.
Chaffey went right back in front on a 3-pointer by SF Jeff Nibo, but the game remained tight for the next several minutes. Spencer tied it at 59 on a putback. Jacko scored inside for Chaffey to give the CHP a 61-59 lead, but Dockett - back on the floor after Joseph picked up his 4th foul - tied it one last time on a short jumper, making it 61-61.
The key to Chaffey's offense was its balance, with four players scoring in double digits. Sampson led the CHP with 19 pts, including the 5 three-pointers. Gilliam had 16 pts, 9 in the last 1:33, and added 5 rebs and 4 asts. Jacko had 15 pts on 6-for-8 from the floor and grabbed a team-high 7 rebs. And Nichols had a superb game with 13 pts, 4 rebs and game-highs of 5 asts and 4 steals while committing just 1 turnover.
For Pasadena, Spencer had game-highs of 25 pts, 13 rebs and 3 blocked shots, but was the only Lancer to score more than 10 points. Dockett had 10 pts, all in the second half, and dished out 4 asts. Smith had 9 pts and 6 rebs, all in the second half, and Miles had 8 pts, all in the second half, plus 4 rebs, 4 asts and 2 steals.
The win advances Chaffey into the regional final on Saturday, and thanks to #1-seed Antelope Valley falling to Cerritos on Wednesday, the Panthers will host Cerritos. Game time is 7 pm.
box score
Wednesday, March 5, 2014 - 7 pm
at Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga
Playoffs - Regional Semifinal
Pasadena Lancers 71:
00-Bryce Clifton, SF - 2/4 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 4 pts
12-Jeffrey Dockett, PG - 4/11 fg, 1/2 ft, 3 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 10 pts
21-Rashad Smtih, PF - 4/10 fg, 6 reb, 3 pf, 9 pts
22-Adrian Miles, SG - 3/6 fg, 4 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 8 pts
24-Taj Spencer, C - 9/19 fg, 7/9 ft, 13 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 25 pts
14-Brandon Joseph, G - 1/4 fg, 4 reb, 2 ast, 4 pf, 2 pts
40-Jevon Shields, G - 0/4 fg, 4/4 ft, 4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 4 pts
32-Faruk Oyalade, C - 1/3 fg, 0/1 ft, 2 reb, 1 blk, 2 pts
23-Jonathan Henderson, F - 2/3 fg, 1 reb, 5 pts
42-Marsalis Ellison, G - 1/1 fg, 1 ast, 2 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 27/65 fg (.415), 12/16 ft (.750), 43 reb, 15 ast, 4 blk, 5 stl, 22 pf, 71 pts
3-pt fgs (5): Miles 2, Dockett, Smith, Henderson
Turnovers (18): Miles 5, Spencer 3, Joseph 3, Dockett 2, Shields 2, Oyalade 2, Smith
Chaffey Panthers 79:
1-Adom Jacko, C - 6/8 fg, 3/6 ft, 7 reb, 1 blk, 3 pf, 15 pts
5-Roderick Evans-Taylor, PF - 0/2 fg, 1 reb, 1 pf, 0 pts
10-Julian Nichols, PG - 4/9 fg, 5/6 ft, 4 reb, 5 ast, 2 blk, 4 stl, 13 pts
11-John Gilliam, SG - 3/7 fg, 9/9 ft, 5 reb, 4 ast, 1 pf, 16 pts
24-Devyn Sampson, SF - 7/15 fg, 3 reb, 2 pf, 19 pts
35-Jeff Nibo, F - 2/9 fg, 2/2 ft, 4 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 3 pf, 7 pts
44-Godfrey Freeman, F - 2/5 fg, 6 reb, 1 blk, 4 stl, 4 pf, 4 pts
4-Breejae Flonnoy, G - 2/3 fg, 1 reb, 3 ast, 5 pts
12-Cassie Hough, G - 0/2 fg, 1 pf, 0 pts
14-Automane Pape Seck, C - 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 pf, 0 pts
32-Andre Wilson, G - 0 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 26/61 fg (.426), 19/23 ft (.826), 34 reb, 15 ast, 6 blk, 10 stl, 16 pf, 79 pts
3-pt fg (8): Sampson 5, Gilliam, Nibo, Flonnoy
Turnovers (13): Flonnoy 3, Nibo 2, Freeman 2, Jacko, Evans-Taylor, Nichols, Sampson, Seck, Wilson
Halftime Score: Chaffey 34, Pasadena 27
Updated Records: Chaffey (#4-seed) 27-5, Pasadena (#11-seed) 21-10
Chaffey led by 10 a couple times early in 2nd half but Pasadena rallied to lead 57-56.
It was tied at 61 when Flonnoy scored for Chaffey with 4:15 left to start a 13-4 run.
Gilliam scored 9 pts including 7 FTs in the last 1:33 to clinch the win for Chaffey.
Chaffey shot 56% from the floor (15/27) in the 2nd half.
