Five players scored in double digits for Victor Valley, which won its 4th straight game by edging Palomar, 87-84, in a first-round game Wednesday night at the Vaquero Classic in Glendale.
It was a very entertaining, evenly-played game in which neither team ever led by more than nine points and the outcome was in doubt until the Comets missed a would-be game-tying 3-pointer just before the final horn sounded.
Victor Valley (10-6), fresh off winning the championship of the Santa Barbara tournament, jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead on a pair of 3-pointers by Stephen Evans. But Palomar (5-5) responded with a 13-2 run, taking a 15-8 lead after a 3-pointer by Jeremy Franklin.
Victor Valley tied the score on a 3-pointer by Deshawn Hayes, and took a lead moments later when Hayes hit a long 2-point jumper. The lead went back and forth the rest of the half, which ended with the score tied at 40.
Early in the second half, Victor Valley took a 44-40 lead after a pair of baskets by Adream Hayes, and pushed its advantage to 54-47 after a 3-pointer by Kimani Lane and a steal & lay-up by Evans. After a steal by James Tonic, Adream Hayes scored on a lay-up to give the Rams a 56-47 lead with about 16 minutes to play, which would turn out to be the largest of the game for either team.
Palomar rallied quickly, tying the score at 61 on two free throws by Deven Riley with 12:32 left. Lane made a 3-pointer and scored on a short jumper to give Victor Valley a 66-61 lead, but Palomar tied it again at 68 on a basket by Franklin off a pass from Riley.
Victor Valley went into the lead once again on baskets by Tonic and Lane, and led the rest of the way. A basket by Adream Hayes off a touch pass from Deshawn Hayes made it 74-68 with just over 7 minutes to play. A 3-pointer by Tonic pushed the Rams' lead to seven points at 81-74.
Palomar got within a point at 81-80 after a basket by Matt Dunniphan with 2:57 left, but never quite caught up. It was still a one-point game after a basket by Riley with 37 seconds left. Lane made two free throws for Victor Valley with 12 seconds left to make it 87-84. Ryan Schaefer missed a contested, step-back three that would have tied the game for the Comets just before the final buzzer.
Lane led the winners with 20 pts, 16 of which came in the second half. Evans had 19 pts, including 3 threes, and a team-high 5 asts. Tonic had 13 pts, 4 rebs and 4 asts, and Deshawn Hayes came off the bench for 13 pts plus a team-high 7 rebs. Adream Hayes had 12 pts on 6-for-7 from the floor.
For Palomar, Franklin led all scorers with 27 pts, which came on 12-for-18 from the floor and included 3 three-pointers. He also had a game-high 7 asts plus 5 rebs. James Sampson had 17 pts, including 3 threes, and 6 asts, while Schaefer had 16 pts, including 4 threes. Riley came off the bench for the game's only double-double with 14 pts, a game-high 10 rebs and 5 asts.
box score
Wednesday, December 17th - 7 pm
at Verdugo Gym, Glendale
Palomar Comets 84:
3-Ryan Schaefer, SG - 5/15 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 16 pts
5-James Sampson, PG - 5/8 fg, 4/5 ft, 2 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 17 pts
23-Jeremy Franklin, PF - 12/18 fg, 5 reb, 7 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 27 pts
30-Carston Nyenhuis, C - 1/2 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 2 pts
32-Cameron Jackson, SF - 2/2 ft, 4 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 2 pts
21-Matt Dunniphan, C - 1/3 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 blk, 3 pf, 4 pts
20-Deven Riley, F - 4/6 fg, 6/8 ft, 10 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 14 pts
15-Keith Houston, F - 1/5 fg, 6 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 2 pts
10-Jared Kane, G - 0/3 fg, 1 reb, 0 pts
42-Reid Bohanan, C - 0/1 fg, 3 reb, 1 stl, 0 pts
22-Isaiah Johnson, F - 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 29/61 fg (.475), 16/19 ft (.842), 39 reb, 23 ast, 1 blk, 5 stl, 19 pf, 84 pts
3-pt fg (10): Schaefer 4, Sampson 3, Franklin 3
Turnovers (17): Sampson 6, Riley 4, Franklin 3, Schaefer 2, Jackson, Dunniphan
Victor Valley Rams 87:
4-James Tonic, SG - 4/13 fg, 3/4 ft, 4 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 13 pts
10-Stephen Evans, PG - 5/8 fg, 6/7 ft, 2 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 2 pf, 19 pts
11-A.J. Mathis, PF - 1/2 fg, 2 reb, 1 stl, 3 pf, 2 pts
13-Adream Hayes, C - 6/7 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 bllk, 1 stl, 5 pf, 12 pts
22-Kimani Lane, SF - 7/15 fg, 4/5 ft, 4 reb, 2 ast, 20 pts
3-Lance Page, G - 1/3 fg, 3 reb, 1 stl, 3 pts
24-Deshawn Hayes, F - 4/8 fg, 4/6 ft, 7 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 1 pf, 13 pts
0-Justin Knowles, G - 1/3 fg, 1 reb, 3 ast, 3 pts
15-Trevone Gates, C - 1/2 fg, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 pf, 2 pts
44-Tre Prudhomme, C - 1 blk, 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 30/61 fg (.492), 17/22 ft (.773), 29 reb, 18 ast, 4 blk, 9 stl, 18 pf, 87 pts
3-pt fg (10): Evans 3, Tonic 2, Lane 2, Page, D.Hayes, Knowles
Technical Foul: D.Hayes
Fouled Out: A.Hayes 3:37 left
Turnovers (10): Tonic 3, Evans 2, Knowles 2, Mathis, Lane, D.Hayes
Halftime Score: Tied at 40
Updated Records: Victor Valley 10-6, Palomar 5-5
