PG Isaac Segovia and Ctr Brandon Price had 14 points each, and SF Jamar Berry had a strong overall game to garner tournament MVP honors but it was the clutch performance of SG Alwyn Jordan that carried #4 Chaffey to an 84-77 win over host Citrus in the championship game of the Neil Edwards tournament Sunday night.
The lead went back and forth all game until Jordan nailed a three with 1:35 left to lift Chaffey to a 78-77 lead. When Chaffey got the ball back, Jordan rebounded a Michael Strawberry miss and scored on the putback to make it 80-77. After a Citrus miss, Berry got the rebound and was fouled; he made the two free throws to make it 82-77. And after a Citrus turnover, Jordan got the ball on the inbounds play and was fouled; his two free throws sealed the win and gave the Panthers the championship.
It was a remarkable turnaround for Jordan, who missed his first 8 shots of the night before finally scoring on a break after a Berry steal with just over 8 minutes left in the game. But this was hardly a normal game for Chaffey, which forced just 20 Citrus turnovers and generated just 7 steals, far below their averages.
The game went back and forth most of the night. Chaffey built an 8-point lead midway through the first half when baskets by Berry and Strawberry made it 26-18, but by halftime the Owls had closed the gap to just 2 points at 42-40. And midway through the second half, Citrus opened a 9-point lead at 66-57 only to see Chaffey rally to tie the game at 69 on a three by Segovia with just over 4 minutes left.
Citrus bounced back from losing the lead, pushing ahead again on jumpers by Ctr Deonta Black and SG Buchi Awaji and taking a 73-69 lead. And the Owls still led by 4 at 77-73 after a baseline drive and lay-up by SF Aaron Arango.
But Chaffey scored the games final 11 points to claim the win. A basket by Ctr Brandon Price, who came off the bench to post the games only double-double, cut the Citrus lead to 77-75 on a feed from Berry. And on the Panthers next trip down the floor, Jordan canned the three that gave them the lead they would hold the rest of the way.
For Chaffey, Segovias 14 pts included 3 threes, and the 5-10 guard also grabbed 6 rebs. Price went 6-for-6 from the floor for his 14 pts, and also grabbed a game-high 11 rebs. Berry finished with 10 pts, 9 rebs, 5 asts, 3 steals and 2 blocks, and Strawberry added 12 pts and 8 boards. Jordan finished with relatively modest totals of 9 pts (on 3-of-12 shooting) and 2 rebs, but produced when it mattered most. Segovia joined Berry on the All-Tournament team.
For Citrus, Awaji led the way with 17 pts and also had 3 asts. Phil Friesen had his usual strong all-around game with 13 pts, 5 asts and 3 steals. PG Kevin McCaughey added 11 pts, all on free throws, and 3 asts. And Black came off the bench to have a huge game with 10 pts (on 5-of-6 shooting), 5 rebs and 4 blocked shots. Chad Allan, who started at Ctr in a small starting lineup, added 6 pts and a team-best 9 rebs.
Coach Rick Croy of Citrus declined any All-Tournament nominations for his team, but Awaji, who scored 25 points in a semifinal win against Santa Ana, is certainly deserving of such recognition.
Sunday, November 26, 2006 6 pm
The 2006 Neil Edwards Classic @ Citrus College, Glendora
Championship Game
Chaffey Panthers 84:
3-Michael Strawberry, PF 4/12 fg, 4/6 ft, 8 reb, 1 stl, 2 pf, 12 pts
12-Bobby Kovach, C 2/5 fg, 3 reb, 3 pf, 4 pts
14-Darryl Carlton, PG 0/3 fg, 2/4 ft, 2 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 2 pts
22-Alwyn Jordan, SG 3/12 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 3 pf, 9 pts
23-Jamar Berry, SF 3/9 fg, 4/6 ft, 9 reb, 5 ast, 2 blk, 3 stl, 4 pf, 10 pts
1-Isaac Segovia, G 4/11 fg, 3/5 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 14 pts
24-Christen Massengale, F 3/8 fg, 6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 7 pts
11-Maurice Newton, C 2/3 fg, 1/ 2 ft, 1 reb, 2 blk, 5 pts
2-Anthony Carson, F 1/5 fg, 3 pf, 3 pts
21-Anthony Clayton, G 1/1 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 pf, 4 pts
33-Brandon Price, C 6/6 fg, 1/1 ft, 11 reb, 2 pf, 14 pts
34-Stephon Richardson, G 1 reb, 1 ast, 0 pts
4-Lamar Williams, G 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 29/75 fg (.387), 19/28 ft (.679), 51 reb, 16 ast, 4 blk, 7 stl, 23 pf, 84 pts
3-pt fg (7): Segovia 3, Jordan, Massengale, Carson, Price
Technical Foul: Berry
Turnovers (15): Berry 3, Strawberry 2, Carlton 2, Jordan 2, Segovia 2, Carson 2, Massengale, Williams
Citrus Owls 77:
5-Kevin McCaughey, PG 0/2 fg, 11/13 ft, 4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 11 pts
15-Aaron Arango, SF 4/11 fg, 6 reb, 1 ast, 9 pts
20-Phil Friesen, PF 5/9 fg, 2/4 ft, 3 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl, 4 pf, 13 pts
25-Buchi Awaji, SG 7/13 fg, 2/5 ft, 3 reb, 3 ast, 3 pf, 17 pts
30-Chad Allan, C 3/5 fg, 0/2 ft, 9 reb, 1 ast, 3 pf, 6 pts
3-Shaughn Hull, G 1/1 fg, 1 ast, 1 pf, 2 pts
10-Lester Cole, F 2/7 fg, 1/ 2 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 4 pf, 5 pts
12-Nathaniel Richardson, G 1/ 2 fg, 5 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 2 pts
23-Edwin Edukere, F 0 pts
45-Deonta Black, C 5/6 fg, 5 reb, 4 blk, 1 pf, 10 pts
44-Richard Frohlich, C 1/ 2 fg, 1 reb, 2 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 29/58 fg (.500), 16/26 ft (.615), 38 reb, 21 ast, 4 blk, 5 stl, 23 pf, 77 pts
3-pt fg (3): Arango, Friesen, Awaji
Turnovers (20): McCaughey 5, Awaji 5, Friesen 4, Cole 2, Hull, Edukere, Black, team
Halftime Score: Chaffey 42, Citrus 40
Updated Records: Chaffey (#4-South, #7-California) 7-1, Citrus 6-4
Note: Jordan scored 7 of his 9 points in the final 1:35, including a 3-pointer that put Chaffey ahead, 78-77 with 1:35 to play.
Berry (MVP) and Segovia were named to the All-Tournament team.
Coach Croy declined official nomination of any Citrus players to the All-Tournament team. Unofficially, consider Awaji a member of that team.
