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Santa Rosa 77, American River 76 (2 OTs)

SF Jordan Freelander made 2 FTs with 5.0 seconds left in the second overtime to lift Santa Rosa (6-6) to its second straight Kris Kringle Classic championship with a 77-76 win over #12 American River (9-4) in the final Saturday night at Haehl Pavilion.

This one was a ragged, hard-fought battle all the way. Neither team led by more than 8 points all game, and of course it needed not one but two overtime periods to settle things between the Big 8 Conference rivals.

Santa Rosa led, 20-19, after a brutal first half in which both teams struggled to score. The Bear Cubs began the game on a 6-0 spurt on 3-pointers by PG Matt Raivio and SG Xavier Cannefax and led 9-2 after another three by Canefax, but American River came back to within a point after a lay-up by PF Stephon Walker following a steal by SF Philip Johnson in the final seconds of the first half. SRJC shot 28% from the floor in the first half, a tick better than ARC's figure of 27%.

When the second half began, American River went in front on a baseline drive by SF German Madueno. Then PG Arthur Yurchenko stole the ball in the SRJC backcourt, was fouled and made 2 FTs to make it 23-20.

Santa Rosa quickly erased that deficit, tying the game at 24 on a driving lay-up by PF Gerrell Knightshead. But then ARC went on an 8-0 spurt to take a 32-24 lead after a 3-pointer by Madueno, two free throws by Yurchenko on a technical foul (on SRJC Coach McMillan) and a 3-pointer by SG Bracin Walker.

ARC still led by 8 at 49-41 with just over six minutes left, but then Santa Rosa rallied, getting within two points at 53-51 after a 3-point play by SG Donald Weddington with 2:54 left. After a free throw by S. Walker made it 54-51, Santa Rosa got within a point on a basket by Knightshead after a steal by Raivio, making it 54-53 with 1:48 left.

In the final minute, Santa Rosa finally went into the lead when Weddington scored on an inbounds play. After ARC missed a pair of shots, Knightshead got the rebound for Santa Rosa, and got the ball to Cannefax, who made a pair of free throws with 12.3 seconds left to make it 57-54.

That, however, proved to be enough time for ARC. After a timeout, the Beavers got the ball to SG Devin Reed, who drained a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left, tying the game at 54 and sending it to overtime.

In the first overtime, Santa Rosa built a 4-point lead at 63-59 after baskets from Knightshead and Weddington. But ARC got a pair of baskets from Madueno to tie the score at 63. Santa Rosa went back in front twice more, but each time American River pulled even, tying the score at 67 on a pair of free throws by Yurchenko with 27 seconds left. It stayed tied as the horn sounded, sending the game to a second overtime.

In the second overtime, the score was tied at 71 when SF Andrew Corsberg stole the ball away from Madueno, feeding Freelander for a lay-up that gave the Bear Cubs the lead. Worse yet for ARC, however, was that Madueno injured his shoulder on the play, sending him to the sidelines for the rest of the game with 2:55 left on the clock.

Still, ARC pulled even on a pair of free throws by B. Walker and took a 74-73 lead on a free throw by Johnson with 1:34 left. Knightshead put Santa Rosa back in front with a basket with 1:16 left, but American River took a 76-75 lead when S. Walker made a pair of free throws with 14.9 seconds left.

Moments later, Freelander got the ball and drove to the basket, drawing the foul. Then he made the two free throws with 5.0 seconds left, which proved to be the winning points. B. Walker missed a would-be winning shot from just beyond the 3-point line as the buzzer sounded.

For Santa Rosa, Weddington led the way with 23 pts, all after halftime, earning him All-Tournament honors. Cannefax had 18 pts, and Knightshead, last year's tourney MVP, had a double-double with 12 pts, 11 rebs and 4 blocked shots. Freelander had 8 pts, including 4 in the second overtime, and a game-high 6 asts, earning tourney MVP honors.

For American River, Madueno had a team-high 23 pts, and his absence in the final 2:55 was pivotal. S. Walker had 17 pts and 8 rebs. Those two were both named to the All-Tournament team. B. Walker had 15 pts, 4 asts and 3 steals, while Johnson came off the bench for 8 pts, 9 rebs and 4 asts.

box score

34th Annual Kris Kringle Classic
at Haehl Pavilion, Santa Rosa Junior College
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Championship - 8 pm

American River Beavers 76:
10-Arthur Yurchenko, PG - 1/5 fg, 6/6 ft, 3 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl, 2 pf, 8 pts
24-Stephon Walker, PF - 7/15 fg, 3/6 ft, 8 reb, 1 stl, 4 pf, 17 pts
33-Bracin Walker, SG - 4/17 fg, 6/10 ft, 3 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 2 pf, 15 pts
42-Kevin Grassle, C - 1/4 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk, 3 stl, 4 pf, 2 pts
44-George Madueno, SF - 8/18 fg, 5/6 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 4 pf, 23 pts
23-Philip Johnson, F - 3/4 fg, 2/7 ft, 9 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 8 pts
32-Matt Keele, C - 1 reb, 0 pts
13-Devin Reed, G - 1/5 fg, 0/1 ft, 4 reb, 2 pf, 3 pts
2-Andre Mayo, G - 2 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 10
Totals: 25/68 fg (.368), 22/36 ft (.611), 43 reb, 15 ast, 5 blk, 14 stl, 23 pf, 76 pts

3-pt fg (4): Madueno 2, B.Walker, Reed
Turnovers (17): S.Walker 4, B.Walker 4, Madueno 4, Yurchenko 3, Johnson 2

Santa Rosa Bear Cubs 77:
10-Matt Raivio, PG - 2/4 fg, 3 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 5 pts
23-Jordan Freelander, SF - 1/7 fg, 6/6 ft, 2 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 8 pts
31-Xavier Cannefax, SG - 6/12 fg, 4/5 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 18 pts
43-Gerrell Knightshead, PF - 6/12 fg, 0/4 ft, 11 reb, 2 ast, 4 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 12 pts
50-Thomas Tyson, C - 6 reb, 3 pf, 0 pts
44-Jesse Williams, F - 2/4 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 1 stl, 6 pts
21-Mike Holden, C - 2/3 fg, 1/2 ft, 3 reb, 3 pf, 5 pts
25-Donald Weddington, G - 9/14 fg, 4/5 ft, 8 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 23 pts
24-Tony Baldocchi, G - 0/3 fg, 1 reb, 0 pts
33-Andrew Corsberg, F - 0/1 fg, 2 reb, 1 stl, 2 pf, 0 pts
22-Dillon Sabia, F - 0/1 fg, 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 28/61 fg (.459), 17/24 ft (.708), 45 reb, 16 ast, 4 blk, 8 stl, 24 pf, 77 pts

3-pt fg (4): Cannefax 2, Raivio, Weddington
Technical Foul: Coach McMillan
Turnovers (25): Knightshead 6, Weddington 6, Cannefax 5, Raivio 3, Freelander 2, Tyson, Williams, Corsberg

Halftime Score: Santa Rosa 20, American River 19

End of Regulation: Tied at 57

End of 1st Overtime: Tied at 67

Updated Records: Santa Rosa 6-6, American River (#12-North, #20-Calif) 9-4

Reed's 3-pointer with 2.4 secs left in regulation sent it to OT

Freelander's 2 FTs with 5.0 secs left in the 2nd OT won it for Santa Rosa

Freelander was named Tourney MVP. Weddington (SR), Madueno (ARC) and S. Walker (ARC) were named to the All-Tournament Team.