PF Wendell White scored 17 pts and grabbed 7 rebs in the second half after missing virtually the entire first half due to foul trouble to lead #13 Antelope Valley (7-2) to a 77-74 win over #7 Mt. San Jacinto (6-3) and claim MVP honors in the Rancho Vista Shootout tourney at AVC.
But make no mistake, this was a team victory for AVC, which had to battle foul trouble involving three key players and then hold on against a last-minute comeback attempt by the Eagles. Mt. San Jacinto had two chances to tie the game in the final seconds, and only when SG Taleek Norman's second three-point attempt bounced off the rim as the horn sounded was victory secured for the Marauders.
AVC jumped out to a 3-1 lead on a three by SF Glenn Gilliard when disaster struck for AVC; White picked up his second foul of the game just 2:11 after the start. To the bench he went, returning for only a couple of ineffective minutes midway through the half before sitting down again until after intermission.
But White's teammates picked up the slack and then some. Gilliard continued his hot shooting and SG Deonte Huff came off the bench to score 7 quick points to propel AVC to a 17-8 lead. And PF Curtis McHenry, standing in for White, blocked a shot and scored a basket as well.
However, Mt. San Jacinto eventually ralllied, tying the game at 22 and taking a 34-32 lead at halftime. Still, for AVC the first half had to be considered a success since they received virtually no contribution from perhaps the state's best player and also shot just 33% from the floor, yet they trailed by just 2 points.
When the second half began, White was back on the floor and he helped AVC take a short lead. But then with 13:37 left, starting PG Tyronne Miller picked up his 4th foul, sending him to the bench. In came Tyme Hodges, but after a quick turnover he went back to the bench in favor of Joe Dickson.
With Dickson in the game, AVC pushed its lead to 8 at 54-46 with just under 10 minutes left on a FG+FT 3-point play by Huff. But a three by MSJ PG Michael Wilson followed by a feed by Wilson to PF Peter Brown helped the Eagles quickly cut into the deficit, and when PG Dewayne Green made a free throw after being fouled following a steal, the game was tied at 59. And perhaps more ominously for AVC, starting Ctr Brandon Murray picked up his 4th foul on the play. Huff scored on a driving layup to put AVC back ahead, but Brown followed his own miss with a putback basket that tied it up again with 5:20 to play.
Then with the game tied at 63, AVC went on a 11-1 run that seemed to put them in control. A basket by Gilliard put AVC ahead. Then Dickson missed a layup, but stole the ball back after the rebound and scored to give AVC a 4-point lead. 2 FTs by White, followed by a pair of baskets by White on feeds from Dickson, pushed AVC's lead to 73-64. A free throw by Huff made it 74-64 with 2:02 left seemed to clinch the win for AVC. And Miller returned to the floor just to help secure things.
But Mt. San Jacinto had other ideas. SF Tremel Gilot nailed a three with 1:42 left to start the rally. Then, after Miller made 1 of 2 FTs, Gilot scored another basket to make it 75-69. Then Norman stole the ball at halfcourt and scored to make it 75-71. And after Dickson missed a pair of free throws, Mt. San Jacinto got the ball back. Norman missed a shot and AVC's Blaine Teeter got the rebound, but Wilson stole the ball from him and fed Gilot for a layup. Plus, Gilot drew a foul on the play, and his subsequent good free throw made it a 1-point game at 75-74 with 30.9 seconds left.
When AVC inbounded the ball, Mt. San Jacinto tried to press them but the Marauders easily broke the press. And when SG Carlton Clay passed to Huff for a layup, that made it a 3-point game with 22 seconds to play.
But Mt. San Jacinto had one last chance to tie it, which turned into three chances to score. Norman took the first shot, but it missed. However, Gilot got the rebound and tried to score a 2-point basket. That also missed, but the rebound came back out to Norman behind the 3-point line. Norman tried one last shot over the leaping White that would have tied the game.
The shot bounced off the rim, and finally it was over. And AVC had the win.
For AVC, White led the way with 17 pts and 8 boards. Huff added 15 pts while Gilliard had 12 and 5 asts. Clay had 9 pts and Dickson had 7 pts and 4 asts. McHenry had just 6 pts, but they all came in the first half when AVC was trying to hold on while White was on the bench. Murray had 6 pts, 6 rebs and 5 blocked shots, but when he got into foul trouble Teeter came off the bench and grabbed 6 more boards.
Gilot led Mt. San Jacinto with 24 pts, 8 rebs and 4 steals in a marvelous performance. Brown added 13 pts and 7 boards, while Norman had a strong all-around game with 11 pts, 9 rebs and 4 asts. Green had 11 pts and 4 steals, while Wilson came off the bench to contribute 6 pts and a game-high 6 asts.
========
unofficial box score:
Sunday, December 5, 2004 - 5:30 pm
Rancho Vista Shootout @ AVC
Championship Game
Mt. San Jacinto Eagles 74:
1-Taleek Norman, SG - 4/13 fg, 1/2 ft, 9 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 11 pts
2-A.J. McGregor, PF - 3/5 fg, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 7 pts
23-DeWayne Green, PG - 4/11 fg, 3/7 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl, 11 pts
25-Tremel Gilot, SF - 7/14 fg, 8/12 ft, 8 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl, 24 pts
33-Peter Brown, C - 5/13 fg, 3/3 ft, 7 reb, 2 blk, 13 pts
0-Ryan Allen, F - 0/2 fg, 3 reb, 0 pts
5-John Ricks, G - 1/4 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 2 pts
4-Michael Wilson, G - 2/3 fg, 4 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl, 6 pts
44-Derek Smith, C - 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 26/65 fg (.400), 15/24 ft (.625), 44 reb, 16 ast, 4 blk, 10 stl, 74 pts
3-pt fg (7): Norman 2, Gilot 2, Wilson 2, McGregor
Fouled Out: McGregor 43.0 secs left
Turnovers (19): Green 6, McGregor 3, Norman 2, Gilot 2, Brown 2, Allen 2, Wilson 2
Antelope Valley Marauders 77:
10-Tyronne Miller, PG - 2/6 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 5 pts
15-Carlton Clay, SG - 4/8 fg, 2 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 9 pts
20-Brandon Murray, C - 1/2 fg, 4/4 ft, 6 reb, 1 ast, 5 blk, 2 stl, 6 pts
23-Glenn Gilliard, SF - 5/13 fg, 4 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 12 pts
41-Wendell White, PF - 7/14 fg, 3/4 ft, 8 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 17 pts
22-Curtis McHenry, F - 3/7 fg, 2 reb, 1 blk, 6 pts
50-Blaine Teeter, C - 0/2 fg, 6 reb, 1 blk, 0 pts
21-Tyme Hodges, G - 1 ast, 0 pts
2-Deonte Huff, G - 6/12 fg, 3/5 ft, 2 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 15 pts
3-Joe Dickson, G - 3/9 fg, 0/2 ft, 4 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 7 pts
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 31/73 fg (.425), 11/17 ft (.647), 42 reb, 19 ast, 10 blk, 9 stl, 77 pts
3-pt fg (4): Gilliard 2, Clay, Dickson
Turnovers (15): White 3, Murray 2, Teeter 2, Hodges 2, Huff 2, Dickson 2, Miller, McHenry
Halftime Score: Mt. San Jacinto 34, Antelope Valley 32
Updated Records: Antelope Valley 7-2, Mt. San Jacinto 6-3
