Fwd Derrick Williams scored 23 points and grabbed 6 steals, including 4 FTs and a steal in the final 5 seconds as host Canyons (5-3) held on for a win against Cerritos (2-5) Tuesday night in Valencia.
Canyons jumped out to a 54-32 lead in the first half, taking advantage of 23 first-half turnovers by the Falcons. The Cougars generated 13 steals and scored countless transition baskets.
The final 30 seconds of the half was a microcosm of what happened to Cerritos. First, Williams stole the ball and went in for a lay-up. Then, PG Curtis Dixon grabbed a steal and went in for a lay-up. Then, Williams registered another steal, poking the ball away. COC got the ball to SG Andre Murray, who was fouled with 1 second left in the half. He made both free throws to push the lead to 22.
But the second half was a completely different story. PG Cortez Ward drained a pair of threes for Cerritos to cut into the lead right away, and the Falcons had cut the lead to 10 at 56-46 by the time 4:40 had elapsed. After that, it was a halfcourt battle and COC's lead fluctuated between 6 and 12 points as the clock wound down.
Finally, Cerritos crept within 5 points when SG Darrell Thomas sank a three with just under 4 mintues left. A basket by Ctr Brandon Ivery on a feed from SF Aaron Thompson cut the margin to 3 at 77-74 with 2:08 left. A lay-up by Thomas on a feed by PF Alex Nixon made it 77-76 with 31 seconds to play. And when Cerritos double-teamed COC PG Shant Bicakci and forced a turnover to get the ball back, the Falcons had a chance for their first lead of the game.
But that lead would never come. Thomas got the ball under the basket only to have his shot blocked by SF Dwayne Jones. But Jones missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw chance, giving Cerritos the ball back with 21 seconds left. After a timeout, the ball went to Ward, who missed a three.
And Williams got the rebound for COC with 5 seconds left. He was fouled immediately, but made both free throws to make it 79-76 with 3 seconds left. On the inbounds play, Cerritos' Nixon tried a pass from the baseline into the front court, but Williams intercepted the pass for a steal. He was fouled, and then calmly sank two more free throws with 2 seconds left to make it 81-76 and seal the win.
For COC, Williams led the way with 23 pts, 4 rebs, 4 asts and 6 steals. Murray had 19 pts (17 in the first half) and 6 asts. Jones added 16 pts. Bicakci had just 5 pts but dished out 9 asts and grabbed 4 steals.
For Cerritos, Nixon had a strong game with 15 pts, 8 rebs, 4 asts and 4 steals. Ward had 13 pts (3 threes), 5 asts and 4 blocked shots. Ivery was solid with 11 pts and 7 boards. Thomas came off the bench to score 10 pts, all in the second half, including a pair of threes.
box score
Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 7:30 pm
at College of the Canyons, Valencia
Cerritos Falcons 76:
30-Brandon Nevens, SG - 3/9 fg, 2/3 ft, 3 ast, 8 pts
33-Aaron Thompson, SF - 3/6 fg, 1/2 ft, 8 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 7 pts
34-Cortez Ward, PG - 5/13 fg, 3 reb, 5 ast, 4 blk, 1 stl, 13 pts
44-Wilmer Fiapai, PF - 3/5 fg, 1/1 ft, 4 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 8 pts
45-Brandon Ivery, C - 5/9 fg, 1/2 ft, 7 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 11 pts
31-Lawrence Robinson, F - 0 pts
32-Jarell Green, G - 1/2 ft, 3 reb, 1 pt
42-Alex Nixon, F - 7/10 fg, 1/3 ft, 8 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl, 15 pts
51-Aaron Drakeford, G - 1 ast, 0 pts
53-Kyle Farrell, C - 1/2 fg, 1/1 ft, 1 reb, 2 blk, 3 pts
43-Brian Tollette, F - 1 reb, 0 pts
35-Darrell Thomas, G - 4/6 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 10 pts
team rebounds: 0
Totals: 31/60 fg (.517), 8/14 ft (.571), 36 reb, 19 ast, 9 blk, 8 stl, 76 pts
3-pt fg (6): Ward 3, Thomas 2, Fiapai
Turnovers (31): Thompson 7, Ward 6, Green 5, Nixon 5, Nevens 3, Ivery 3, Fiapai 2
Canyons 81:
3-Andre Murray, SG - 6/17 fg, 5/7 ft, 3 reb, 6 ast, 19 pts
10-Shant Bicakci, PG - 1/7 fg, 2/2 ft, 4 reb, 9 ast, 4 stl, 5 pts
12-Dwayne Jones, SF - 7/10 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 16 pts
30-Derrick Williams, PF - 9/14 fg, 5/6 ft, 4 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 6 stl, 23 pts
54-Scott Moore, C - 3/9 fg, 1/1 ft, 7 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 7 pts
21-Youssef Hulse, F - 3/5 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 6 pts
34-Ryan Zike, C - 1/3 fg, 3 reb, 1 stl, 2 pts
42-Lewis Pettway, F - 0/1 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 pt
32-Curtis Dixon, G - 1/1 fg, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 pts
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 31/67 fg (.463), 15/20 ft (.750), 32 reb, 23 ast, 4 blk, 17 stl, 81 pts
3-pt fg (4): Murray 2, Bicakci, Jones
Turnovers (21): Murray 5, Williams 5, Bicakci 4, Hulse 2, Moore, Zike, Pettway, team 2
Halftime Score: Canyons 54, Cerritos 32
Updated Records: Canyons 5-3, Cerritos 2-5
