In the day's marquee matchup, Riverside toppled Palomar on a long 3-pointer with 1 second left. It was a gritty, determined effort by the Tigers, who trailed much of the game though it was always close. SF Dennis Coutee had a game-high 21 pts but the winning bucket came from reserve G Bobby Russo, who scored his only points of the day on the shot.
The final sequence started when Riverside trailed 71-67. F Aaron Lesane was fouled and made the first FT. He missed the second FTA, but Coutee grabbed the rebound and made the putback to make it 71-70 with 21 secs left. After Palomar inbounded the ball, Comet PG Anthony Bolton was fouled. He made the first FT but missed the second, leaving it 72-70 with 18 secs left. After a timeout, Riverside's Frederick Bernard brought the ball up the court but once he crossed the center line, Palomar tried a trap. Bernard fired the ball high across the court to Russo, who caught the ball and fired a 22-footer that swished through the net with 1 second left. Palomar's last desperate inbounds attempt ended up in the hands of Riverside's Lesane as the buzzer sounded, giving the Tigers a win.
Particularly inspirational was RCC's C Ronald Roundtree, who played much of the game in obvious pain. He went down hard, landing on his right hip, after blocking a shot with just over 6 minutes left in the first half. He had to leave the game several times after that, but still played at least half the time. Roundtree ended with 14 pts before fouling out with 1:26 left. Palomar was led by Bolton, who had an excellent game with 19 pts, 9 asts, 8 rebs and 4 steals. He was even 7 of 8 from the line on the day, but that one miss turned out to be rather large. Reserve wingman Jordan Feramisco scored all 14 of his points in the 2nd half in a big effort off the bench for the Comets.
Unofficial Box Score:
Friday, December 28, 2001 - 5 pm
Cougar Holiday Classic - Semifinal #1
Palomar Comets 72:
3-Anthony Bolton, SG - 5/13 fg, 7/8 ft, 8 reb, 9 ast, 4 stl, 19 pts
5-Randy Randle, PG - 2/8 fg, 4/4 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 8 pts
21-Lamar Abbott, PF - 3/6 fg, 1/4 ft, 8 reb, 1 stl, 7 pts
22-James Johnson, C - 3/8 fg, 1/4 ft, 6 reb, 2 ast, 7 pts
33-Aaron Abrams, SF - 4/10 fg, 0/2 ft, 4 reb, 2 ast, 8 pts
12-Phil Sutton, G - 1/4 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 5 pts
44-Josh Barton, F - 1/3 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 2 pts
10-Jordan Feramisco, G - 5/7 fg, 3/3 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 14 pts
23-Scottie Miller, G - 1/1 fg, 1 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pts
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 25/60 fg (.417), 18/27 ft (.667), 42 reb, 18 ast, 2 blk, 8 stl, 72 pts
3-pt fg: Bolton 2, Sutton, Feramisco
Turnovers (14): Johnson 3, Feramisco 3, Bolton 2, Abbott 2, Abrams 2, Sutton, Barton
Riverside Tigers 73:
11-Darnell Thompson, PG - 5/14 fg, 1/3 ft, 2 reb, 7 ast, 1 blk, 12 pts
14-Miguel Ayala, SG - 2/5 fg, 5 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 6 pts
21-R.J. Speaks, PF - 1/6 fg, 6 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl, 2 pts
22-Ronald Roundtree, C - 5/11 fg, 2/4 ft, 4 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk, 2 stl, 14 pts
42-Dennis Coutee, SF - 8/16 fg, 4 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 21 pts
24-Aaron Lesane, F - 5/7 fg, 2/6 ft, 6 reb, 2 stl, 12 pts
10-Bobby Russo, G - 1/2 fg, 1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 3 pts
5-Frederick Bernard, G - 1/1 fg, 1 ast, 3 pts
25-Darren Bagwell, F - 1 reb, 0 pts
team rebounds: 10
Totals: 28/62 fg (.452), 5/13 ft (.385), 39 reb, 20 ast, 8 blk, 8 stl, 73 pts
3-pt fg: Coutee 5, Ayala 2, Roundtree 2, Thompson, Russo, Bernard
Fouled Out: Roundtree 1:26 left, Thompson :38 left
Tech Foul: Roundtree
Turnovers (16): Roundtree 4, Thompson 3, Coutee 3, Speaks 2, Ayala, Lesane, Russo, team
Halftime Score: Palomar 36, Riverside 33
Updated Records: Riverside 14-4, Palomar 10-5
Notes: Key sequence began with 38 secs left when Thompson fouled out, sending Bolton to the line and bringing Russo into the game. Bolton made both FTs, making it 71-67. Riverside got the ball to Lesane, who was fouled. He made the first FT and missed the second, but Coutee got the rebound and put in the putback to make it 71-70 with 21 secs left. Once Palomar got the ball inbounds, Riverside fouled Bolton again with 18 secs left. Bolton made the 1st FT but missed the 2nd, and Russo got the rebound. After a timeout, Riverside had Bernard bring up the ball but he was trapped after he crossed midcourt. As the clock wound down, Bernard threw the ball over the trap and to Russo, who took a 22-footer and NAILED IT with 1 second to go. Palomar tried one last play but a long pass nearly went out of bounds and when a Comet tried to save it the ball was stolen by Lesane as the buzzer sounded.
Note: Roundtree fell hard on his right side with about 6 mins left in the 1st half. He played about half the time after that, but was in obvious pain and was very limited. He had 8 pts (on 3 of 5 incl 2 threes), 2 rebs, 3 blk, 2 stl before the injury (he was injured on blk #3).
