The game got off to a late start, and Mt. San Antonio got off to a slow start, but by the time it was over the #1-ranked Mounties had a comfortable lead and their 11th straight win, topping Citrus, 78-62, Monday night.
The game officials arrived late, pushing the scheduled 5 pm start back some 45 minutes, and prior to the game Mt. San Antonio recognized two of their outstanding alumni, former professional basketball players Larry Richard and Pete Williams, by retiring their numbers (#22 and #24, respectively). So opening tip-off was actually at 6 pm.
And the Mounties (12-1) got started even later, missing 14 of their first 18 shots of the game and falling behind, 19-8, 12:48 into the first half. Citrus still held a 29-22 lead at the half after back-to-back 3-pointers by SG Kerry Carter in the final minute of the first half.
Then came the second half, and things were very different as Mt. San Antonio dominated virtually from start to finish. The Mounties shot 68% in the second half, led by SF Garrett Nevels, who scored 25 of his game-high 27 pts in the second half and sparked a game-clinching 13-1 run with a tremendous putback slam with about 6 minutes left that got fans and teammates up out of their seats.
Citrus (5-6) started out well enough, jumping out to the 19-8 lead after Carter hit a 3-pointer to make it 17-8 and added two free throws after he was fouled on a fast break that was started by a blocked shot by PF Steven Thornton with 7:12 left in the first half. That made it 19-8. and at that point Mt. SAC was shooting a frigid 22% from the floor.
SG Corey Allen stepped up to get Mt. SAC back in the game, bringing the Mounties within four points at 19-15 on a driving lay-up. A short jumper by SG Shadrach Earby made it 23-21 with 3:04 left in the first half, and Allen split two free throws with 57.8 seconds left to make it a one-point game at 23-22.
Carter hit a 3-pointer from the right corner with 40 seconds left to push Citrus' lead to 26-22, and after a Mt. SAC turnover, hit another three with 3.1 seconds left to make it 29-22. The clock erroneously stopped after the basket, but game officials noticed that mistake and waved off what could have been a half-court 3-pointer by Mt. SAC at the buzzer. Instead, it remained 29-22 in favor of Citrus.
The second half, however, belonged to Mt. SAC, which quickly erased the 7-point deficit, then battled on even terms with the Owls for the next ten minutes before pulling away for a 20-point lead en route to a 16-point victory.
A blocked shot by PF Christian Cooper started a fast break that ended with PG Hakeem Nance scoring on a fast break to tie the score at 34, and Allen scored on a fast break off a pass from Nance moments later to give the Mounties a 36-34 lead just less than five minutes into the second half. That was Mt. SAC's 6th straight made field goal attempt, and SF Kacy Barlow added two free throws following a steal by Cooper to make it 38-34 with 14:31 left.
Thornton answered back for Citrus with a 3-point field goal and a 3-point play to put the Owls back in front, 40-38, with 13:56 left. And the lead went back and forth over the next several minutes, with Citrus trailing just 56-53 as the clock approached the six-minute mark.
At that point, Mt. SAC tried a 3-point shot from the corner. The ball bounced off the rim, at which point Nevels grabbed it and threw it back through the basket, prompting a loud eruption from the crowd and bringing his teammates out of their seats in celebration.
The putback slam made it 58-53, but it also put momentum squarely in the corner of the Mounties, and sparked a 13-1 run that clinched the win. A basket by Ctr Christian Mays made it 60-54, and a 3-pointer by Nevels made it 63-54. Two free throws by Allen with 4:15 left made it 65-54. Then Allen scored on a lay-up after a steal by Earby to make it 67-54. Two free throws by Mays with 3:21 left pushed the lead to 15 at 69-54, ending any doubt as to the game's outcome.
Nevels led all scorers with his 27 points, which included 5 three-pointers, with 25 of those points coming in the second half. Allen had 25 pts plus 5 asts, 3 rebs and 3 steals, and made 10 of 16 shots from the floor. Overall Mt. SAC shot 68% from the field in the second half, and 63% after the 4-for-18 start. And the Mounties generated 18 steals while forcing 29 Citrus turnovers.
For the Owls, Carter had a team-high 24 pts, including 5 threes, though 18 of those points came in the first half. Thornton had 20 pts, with 18 of those coming in the second half. Jordan Mackie, starting at point guard in place of injured Darius Middleton (leg muscle), had 4 pts plus game-highs of 9 asts and 5 steals.
box score
Monday, December 17, 2012 - 6 pm
at Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut
Citrus Owls 62:
3-Kerry Carter, SG - 8/15 fg, 3/5 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl, 2 pf, 24 pts
5-Steven Thornton, PF - 7/15 fg, 4/8 ft, 4 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 20 pts
10-Jordan Mackie, PG - 1/1 fg, 1/4 ft, 3 reb, 9 ast, 1 blk, 5 stl, 3 pf, 4 pts
20-Greg Sequele, C - 2/7 fg, 1/2 ft, 6 reb, 2 blk, 2 stl, 3 pf, 5 pts
34-Therique Card, SF - 1/2 fg, 1/2 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 3 pts
50-Brent Watkins, C - 1/1 fg, 4 reb, 2 blk, 2 pf, 2 pts
23-Jevion Roland, G - 1/2 fg, 2/4 ft, 1 reb, 3 ast, 4 pf, 4 pts
32-Kumase DeMesma, G - 1 reb, 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 21/43 fg (.488), 12/25 ft (.480), 29 reb, 15 ast, 8 blk, 13 stl, 20 pf, 62 pts
3-pt fg (8): Carter 5, Thornton 2, Mackie
Technical Foul: Coach Victor
Turnovers (29): Carter 8, Mackie 6, Card 5, Roland 5, Sequele 3, Thornton, Watkins
Mt. SAC Mounties 78:
4-Hakeem Nance, PG - 2/5 fg, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 pf, 4 pts
12-Corey Allen, SG - 10/16 fg, 5/8 ft, 3 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl, 3 pf, 25 pts
23-Christian Cooper, PF - 0/3 fg, 4/4 ft, 6 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl, 4 pts
25-Garrett Nevels, SF - 9/17 fg, 4/4 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 27 pts
32-Christian Mays, C - 1/1 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 5 pf, 4 pts
22-Cliff Sims, C - 0/2 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 1 pf, 0 pts
24-Shadrach Earby, G - 2/4 fg, 3 reb, 1 ats, 1 stl, 2 pf, 4 pts
34-Kacy Barlow, F - 0/1 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 pf, 2 pts
20-Chris Croom, G - 0/2 fg, 1 stl, 1 pf, 0 pts
3-Andrew Ortiz, F - 1/1 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 stl, 2 pf, 5 pts
42-Josh Hopkins, G - 1/1 fg, 1 stl, 2 pf, 3 pts
50-Joseph Navarro, G - 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 26/53 fg (.491), 19/22 ft (.864), 29 reb, 12 ast, 2 blk, 18 stl, 21 pf, 78 pts
3-pt fg (7): Nevels 5, Ortiz, Hopkins
Fouled Out: Mays 3:11 left
Turnovers (19): Allen 4, Nance 3, Nevels 3, Mays 2, Sims 2, Cooper, Earby, Croom, Ortiz, Hopkins
Halftime Score: Citrus 29, Mt. San Antonio 22
Updated Records: Mt. San Antonio (#1-South, #2-Calif) 12-1, Citrus 5-6
Citrus led 19-8 with 7:12 left in the 1st half as Mt. SAC was 4-for-18 from the floor.
Mt. SAC took a 38-34 lead with 14:31 left after making 6 straight FGs and 2 FTs.
The lead went back and forth and Mt. SAC held just a 56-53 lead with just over 6 minutes to go.
Nevels sparked a 13-1 run with a tremendous putback slam and that run pushed the Mt. SAC lead to 69-54.
