Orange Coast went on a decisive 15-0 run to take a ten-point lead midway through the second half and held on for a narrow win over LA Southwest in a championship semifinal at the 2012 Vaquero Classic Friday evening at Glendale College.
Orange Coast (7-4) took a 56-46 lead after the run, but had to withstand a furious late-game rally by LA Southwest (3-9), which got 3-pointers from SF Charles Glaster and PG Sheldon Wright in the last 13.8 seconds to get within two points of the Pirates before time finally ran out.
It was a scrambly, full-court game that saw both teams press on virtually every possession. And neither team built a double-digit lead until Orange Coast's 15-0 run midway through the second half, and that lead shrunk back to four points within just a few minutes.
LA Southwest rallied to trail, 59-55, but then Orange Coast seemed to regain control of the game, taking a 66-59 lead after two free throws by PG Spencer Poston with 43.5 seconds left. After Southwest scored on a driving lay-up by SG Justin Cobb, Poston made two more free throws with 34.9 seconds left to make it 68-61.
Then came the frantic Southwest comeback. PF Percy Evans split two free throws with 26.6 seconds left to make it 68-62. He missed the second attempt, and Orange Coast Ctr John Joyce grabbed the rebound; he was fouled immediately but missed two free throws. Glaster was fouled with 18.0 seconds left and made one free throw to make it 68-63.
Then Orange Coast was called for a five second count, turning the ball over to Southwest. On the restart, Glaster tried a line-drive 3-point shot that hit every part of the rim, bounced straight up and then back into the basket with 13.8 seconds left to make it 68-66.
Orange Coast got the ball to SG Jo Jo Trinidad, who split two free throws with 12.9 seconds left to make it 69-66. He missed the second, and SG Robert Grepo chased down the loose ball for the rebound. He was fouled with 11.7 seconds left and made two free throws to make it 71-66.
But Southwest wasn't quite finished. Wright took the ball across the center line and drove near the top of the key and launched an off-balance 3-point shot, which went in with 5.0 seconds left to make it 71-69. Trinidad was again fouled and again made one of two free throws to make it 72-69 with 3.1 seconds left. Southwest had one last chance to tie it, but was out of timeouts, and was able to inbound the ball but never got a final shot away before the buzzer.
All that followed a game that was close throughout. Orange Coast led, 9-5, before a 10-0 Southwest run that gave the Cougars a 15-9 lead. Orange Coast rallied to tie the score at 15 on one Trinidad 3-pointer and take a 19-18 lead on another Trinidad 3-pointer.
Southwest went back in front, 20-19, on a pair of free throws by Ctr Brandon Jamar with 7:35 left in the first half, and pushed the lead to eight points at the half. Glaster scored inside with about 35 seconds left to make it 35-27 at the break in favor of the Cougars.
That 8-point lead lasted just 2:25 into the second half, as Orange Coast quickly rallied to tie the score at 35 after a baseline jumper by SF Chris Nelson with 17:35 left in the game. But Southwest went back in front, 44-39, at which point Wright had scored all 9 of the Cougars' second-half points. Southwest also led by five points at 46-41.
Then came the Orange Coast run, as the Pirates tied the score at 46 on a jumper by Grepo with 13 minutes left and took a 48-46 lead on another Grepo jumper 25 seconds later. A basket by Nelson made it 50-46, and a 3-pointer by Poston made it 53-46. Three free throws by PF Dominique Nelson - two at the 9:05 mark and one more with 8:36 left, completed the run, giving Orange Coast the 10-point lead that proved to be just big enough.
For Orange Coast, Trinidad had a team-high 18 pts, including 4 threes, plus 5 rebs and 2 steals. Poston had 16 pts and 3 steals. Grepo came off the bench for 9 pts and 4 asts, and Ctr Broderick Dunlap had 4 pts plus team-highs of 9 rebs and 2 blocked shots in a reserve role.
For LA Southwest, Wright led all scorers with 21 pts, 17 of which came in the second half, and also tied for team-high with 4 asts. But he was the only Cougar to score in double digits. Glaster had 9 pts and 6 rebs. Jamar came off the bench for 6 pts and a game-high 11 rebs.
box score
2012 Vaquero Classic
Friday, December 14th @ Verdugo Gym, Glendale
Championship Semifinal - 6 pm
Orange Coast Pirates 72:
3-Jo Jo Trinidad, SG - 6/12 fg, 2/4 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 18 pts
13-Spencer Poston, PG - 3/7 fg, 9/13 ft, 4 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 3 pf, 16 pts
23-Chris Nelson, SF - 2/7 fg, 4 reb, 1 stl, 1 pf, 4 pts
24-Nathan Kirschbaum, C - 0/1 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 blk, 3 pf, 1 pt
32-Marquis Ransom, PF - 2/4 fg, 3/4 ft, 2 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 5 pf, 7 pts
4-Robert Grepo, G - 3/6 fg, 2/4 ft, 3 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 9 pts
5-Jordan Pellum, G - 1/6 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 ast, 2 pf, 4 pts
21-Dominique Nelson, F - 3/6 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 3 pts
25-Billy Nguyen, F - 0/3 fg, 0/2 ft, 4 reb, 1 stl, 0 pts
34-John Joyce, C - 2/2 fg, 2/4 ft, 2 reb, 2 pf, 6 pts
33-Broderick Dunlap, C - 2/11 fg, 9 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 2 pf, 4 pts
31-Daniel Dedeaux, F - 0/1 fg, 0 pts
20-Kimo Wakim, G - 0/1 fg, 1 ast, 1 stl, 0 pts
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 21/61 fg (.344), 23/41 ft (.561), 44 reb, 11 ast, 4 blk, 11 stl, 21 pf, 72 pts
3-pt fg (7): Trinidad 4, Poston, Grepo, Pellum
Technical Foul: Ransom
Fouled Out: Ransom 26.6 seconds left
Turnovers (17): Trinidad 3, Poston 2, C.Nelson 2, Kirschbaum 2, Ransom 2, Pellum 2, D.Nelson, Nguyen, team 2
LA Southwest Cougars 69:
1-Percy Evans, PF - 1/8 fg, 4/12 ft, 6 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 6 pts
2-Charles Glaster, SF - 3/10 fg, 1/2 ft, 6 reb, 1 ast, 4 pf, 9 pts
10-Sheldon Wright, PG - 7/13 fg, 4/4 ft, 2 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 21 pts
32-Curtis Stuckey, SG - 0/4 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 5 pf, 2 pts
42-Andre Davis, C - 2/2 fg, 1/3 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 1 pf, 5 pts
11-Justin Cobb, G - 3/6 fg, 0/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 7 pts
34-Sidd Martin, G - 3/5 fg, 3 reb, 2 pf, 8 pts
20-Kyle Haynes, F - 1/3 fg, 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 pts
44-Joshua Jackson, C - 1 reb, 0 pts
40-Brandon Jamar, C - 1/2 fg, 4/4 ft, 11 reb, 2 blk, 3 pf, 6 pts
4-Lonnie Livingston, G - 1/2 fg, 1 reb, 3 pts
15-Jarrett Cunningham, F - 0/1 ft, 2 reb, 3 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 22/55 fg (.400), 16/30 ft (.533), 45 reb, 16 ast, 3 blk, 7 stl, 25 pf, 69 pts
3-pt fg (9): Wright 3, Glaster 2, Martin 2, Cobb, Livingston
Fouled Out: Stuckey 43.5 seconds left
Turnovers (23): Wright 5, Evans 4, Glaster 3, Martin 3, Stuckey 2, Davis 2, Cobb 2, Jamar 2
Halftime Score: LA Southwest 35, Orange Coast 27
Updated Records: Orange Coast 7-4, LA Southwest 3-9
LA Southwest led 44-39 when Orange Coast went on a 15-0 run to lead, 56-46.
LA Southwest got within 2 in the final seconds after a 3-pointer by Wright but couldn't get a final shot away before time ran out.
