SF Jacob Briggs scored 22 points and SG Andre Murray added 18 as host #9-South Canyons led wire-to-wire in a 78-72 win over Fullerton Tuesday night in Valencia.
Briggs scored the first points of the game, and COC raced out to a 10-1 lead in the opening minutes as Fullerton missed its first 6 shots. A short jumper by Murray pushed the advantage into double digits for the first time at 19-8.
Canyons extended the lead to as many as 20 points at 37-17 after a putback basket by PF Everett Bryson with just over 5 minutes left before halftime and led by 16 at 48-32 at intermission. In the first half, COC shot a sizzling 56% from the floor.
Early in the second half, Fullerton closed the gap to 49-38 in the opening minutes but couldn't sustain that rally as COC pushed the lead back to 19 at 61-42.
Fullerton gradually closed ground as Canyons' shooting cooled off, cutting the margin to 8 at 61-53 on a basket by SF Ray Magee. To that point, COC was just 6-of-26 from the floor in the second half.
But the Cougars pulled away again behind backup PG Gino Riney. Canyons still led by just 8 at 68-60 when Riney fed Briggs, Murray and Bryson for baskets to push the lead back to 14 at 74-60 with under three minutes left.
COC was never threatened after that. Fullerton PG Manny Fierros made a basket and SG Brett Spencer drained a three in the final seconds to make the final score look better, but the final margin was the closest the Hornets were to the Cougars since the opening minutes of the game.
For Canyons, Briggs had the game-high 22 pts on 9-of-13 shooting. Murray had a team-high 10 rebs in addition to his 18 pts. SF Kenya Ward added 9 pts and SG Dwayne Jones added 8. Riney finished with 8 pts, 6 rebs and a game-high 9 asts off the bench. And for the game, COC held a strong 53-36 advantage on the boards.
For Fullerton, Ctr Bryan LeDuc made 11 of 13 shots from the floor for a game-high 27 pts. He also had 9 rebs and 4 blocks. PF Roderick Johnson had a double-double with 12 pts and a game-high 12 rebs. Fierros had 13 pts and 4 asts before fouling out in the final seconds.
box score
Tuesday, November 21, 2006 - 7 pm
at College of the Canyons, Valencia
Fullerton Hornets 72:
0-Manny Fierros, PG - 4/6 fg, 3/4 ft, 4 reb, 4 ast, 5 pf, 13 pts
22-Brett Spencer, SG - 1/10 fg, 4 reb, 1 stl, 1 pf, 3 pts
23-Roderick Johnson, PF - 4/17 fg, 1/3 ft, 12 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl, 4 pf, 12 pts
32-Ray Magee, SF - 3/7 fg, 1/3 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 7 pts
34-Bryan LeDuc, C - 11/13 fg, 5/6 ft, 9 reb, 4 blk, 2 stl, 2 pf, 27 pts
1-Amir Nelson, G - 1/7 fg, 2/4 ft, 2 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 1 pf, 4 pts
5-Nehemiah Weicks, G - 0/1 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 2 pts
12-Joe Ballistrea, C - 1/1 fg, 2 reb, 2 pf, 2 pts
4-Calise Patterson, F - 1/4 fg, 2 pts
11-Carlton Smith, G - 0/1 fg, 1 ast, 0 pts
2-Brandon McCain, G - 1 stl, 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 26/67 fg (.388), 14/22 ft (.636), 36 reb, 15 ast, 7 blk, 7 stl, 18 pf, 72 pts
3-pt fg (6): Johnson 3, Fierros 2, Spencer
Intentional Foul: LeDuc
Fouled Out: Fierros 0:17 left
Turnovers (20): Johnson 5, Fierros 4, Nelson 3, Weicks 3, LeDuc 2, Spencer, Ballestra, Patterson
Canyons Cougars 78:
3-Andre Murray, SG - 8/18 fg, 1/2 ft, 10 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 18 pts
4-Jacob Briggs, SF - 9/13 fg, 3/4 ft, 6 reb, 2 ast, 2 pf, 22 pts
10-Shant Bicakci, PG - 0/1 fg, 3 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 2 pf, 0 pts
34-Everett Bryson, PF - 3/11 fg, 8 reb, 1 stl, 2 pf, 6 pts
42-Donjay Kakonde, C - 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 1 pf, 0 pts
22-Kenya Ward, F - 3/9 fg, 1/2 ft, 6 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 9 pts
12-Dwayne Jones, G - 3/11 fg, 2/2 ft, 5 reb, 1 blk, 2 pf, 8 pts
21-Youssef Hulse, F - 3/5 fg, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 7 pts
32-Gino Riney, G - 1/2 fg, 6/7 ft, 6 reb, 9 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 8 pts
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 30/71 fg (.423), 13/17 ft (.765), 53 reb, 21 ast, 2 blk, 6 stl, 20 pf, 78 pts
3-pt fg (5): Ward 2, Murray, Briggs, Hulse
Flagrant Foul: Riney
Turnovers (24): Ward 4, Jones 4, Riney 4, Briggs 3, Bicakci 3, Murray 2, Hulse 2, Bryson, Kakonde
Halftime Score: Canyons 48, Fullerton 32
Updated Records: Canyons (#9 South, #19 California) 5-1, Fullerton 2-3
