SF Will Ligon had 30 pts, including 5 three-pointers, and dished out 6 asts as Orange Coast upset #9-ranked LA Southwest, 79-77, in the first round of the 2011 Vaquero Classic at Glendale Thursday night.
It was an extremely close game as neither team led by more than six points all night. And LA Southwest had a 66-65 lead late in the second half before Orange Coast went on a 6-0 spurt to take a lead it held the rest of the way.
Orange Coast (5-7) jumped out to a 6-0 lead to start the game, but LA Southwest went on an 11-0 run to lead, 11-6. Then Orange Coast answered with a 15-4 run to take a 21-15 lead after a 3-pointer by SG Jason Payne.
The lead went back and forth the rest of the game. LA Southwest (8-5) took a 31-30 lead on a basket by PF Shannen Garner with 3:51 left in the first half, but Orange Coast went right back in front. It was tied at 37 when Payne hit another 3-pointer with about 35 seconds left in the half to give Orange Coast a 40-37 lead at the break.
A Ligon 3-pointer to start the second half pushed Orange Coast's lead back to six points at 43-37, but it never got any larger. Southwest took a lead on a lay-up by SG Brian Stewart on a fast break started by a blocked shot by 5-foot-7 point guard Ralph Williams that made it 48-47. The lead changed hands multiple times with Southwest holding a 66-65 lead with under five minutes left.
Orange Coast took a lead on a pair of free throws by Ctr Eric Stockstill, and then got a steal & lay-up from PG Mikey Molina to make it 69-66. A putback basket by PF Dominique Nelson made it 71-66. The lead grew back to six points at 74-68 after a free throw by PG Marcus Partridge with 2:57 left.
LA Southwest got within two points at 74-72 on a dunk by Ctr Brandon Johnson and trailed by two again after two free throws by SF Percy Evans with 58.4 seconds left. After two free throws - in four attempts - by Payne, SG Thurman Thomas brought Southwest within a point at 78-77 with 14.4 seconds left.
PG Jo Jo Trinidad made a free throw with 4.4 seconds left to make it 79-77. He missed the second, but Southwest was out of timeouts and had to settle for a 40-foot desperation 3-pointer by SG Stephon Dafney. This past summer, Dafney drained a game-winning 3-pointer against Palomar, but that was a regular jumper from the top of the key rather than a half-court heave, and this time the ball bounced off the outside of the rim.
Ligon led all scorers with his 30 points, which came on 11-for-23 from the floor, and his 6 assists were a team-high. Payne came off the bench for 14 pts and Trinidad had 10. Stockstill had 7 pts plus a team-high 10 rebs and a game-high 3 blocked shots before fouling out in the game's last minute.
For Southwest, Johnson had 23 pts and 8 rebs, and Garner had 20 pts and a game-high 17 rebs. Nobody else scored in double figures for the Cougars, however. Williams had 6 pts and 6 asts.
2011 Vaquero Classic
Thursday, December 15th @ Verdugo Gym, Glendale
First Round - 5 pm
Orange Coast Pirates 79:
14-Tyler Payne, SG - 2/5 fg, 4 ast, 1 pf, 5 pts
15-Marcus Partridge, PG - 0/1 fg, 1/2 ft, 4 reb, 3 ast, 1 pf, 1 pt
21-Dominique Nelson, PF - 1/1 fg, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 pf, 2 pts
23-Will Ligon, SF - 11/23 fg, 3/4 ft, 5 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 30 pts
24-Eric Stockstill, C - 2/8 fg, 3/4 ft, 10 reb, 3 blk, 5 pf, 7 pts
11-Mikey Molina, G - 1/6 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 pf, 4 pts
3-Jo Jo Trinidad, G - 3/4 fg, 3/4 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 10 pts
4-Frank Randall, G - 2/4 fg, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 4 pts
42-Zach Matar, C - 0/3 fg, 0/2 ft, 3 reb, 2 pf, 0 pts
13-Jason Payne, G - 4/6 fg, 3/5 ft, 14 pts
32-Leron Lacey, C - 1/2 fg, 5 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 pf, 2 pts
31-Darnell Banks, F - 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 1
Totals: 27/64 fg (.422), 15/23 ft (.652), 36 reb, 22 ast, 4 blk, 5 stl, 18 pf, 79 pts
3-pt fg (10): Ligon 5, J.Payne 3, T.Payne, Trinidad
Fouled Out: Stockstill 58.4 seconds left
Turnovers (15): Stockstill 3, Molina 3, Trinidad 3, Ligon 2, Matar 2, Randall, Lacey
LA Southwest Cougars 77:
1-Percy Evans, SF - 2/9 fg, 4/6 ft, 6 reb, 3 ast, 4 pf, 8 pts
10-Thurman Thomas, SG - 3/6 fg, 2 reb, 2 ast, 2 pf, 7 pts
11-Ralph Williams, PG - 3/6 fg, 0/1 ft, 1 reb, 6 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 6 pts
40-Brandon Johnson, C - 8/16 fg, 7/10 ft, 8 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 23 pts
42-Shannen Garner, PF - 9/15 fg, 2/2 ft, 17 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 20 pts
2-Stephon Dafney, G - 1/9 fg, 7 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 3 pts
21-Danny Morris, F - 2/3 fg, 1 reb, 4 pts
15-Jarrett Cunningham, F - 2 stl, 0 pts
32-Brian Stewart, G - 2/7 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 3 pf, 6 pts
3-Brian Massey, F - 0 pts
34-Lonnie Livingston, G - 0/2 fg, 1 stl, 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 30/73 fg (.411), 15/22 ft (.682), 47 reb, 19 ast, 3 blk, 6 stl, 19 pf, 77 pts
3-pt fg (2): Thomas, Dafney
Turnovers (16): Stewart 4, Williams 3, Dafney 3, Thomas 2, Garner 2, Evans, Morris
Halftime Score: Orange Coast 40, LA Southwest 37
Updated Records: Orange Coast 5-7, LA Southwest (#9-South, #18-Calif) 8-5
Neither team led by more than 6 points. LA Southwest led, 66-65, when Orange Coast went on a 6-0 run, and the Pirates led the rest of the way.
