SG Tyler Watts came off the bench for 20 pts and #8 Lassen shot 54% from the floor in the second half and nursed a short lead for much of thst time in an 81-70 win over #12 Foothill in the consolation final of the West Valley tournament Saturday afternoon in Saratoga.
Lassen (12-7) led most of the game, jumping out to a 21-9 lead early, but Foothill (7-6) erased that deficit with a 14-2 run that saw the Owls take a 26-25 lead late in the first half. It was tied at 34 at the half and again at 45 in the second half before the Cougars finally capitalized on their superior depth and started to pull away.
Lassen scored 4 points to break the 45-all tie, and never surrendered that lead. A 3-pointer by SF Lawrence Melton made it 57-52 at the midway point of the second half. A 3-pointer by Watts made it 63-55 with just over 8 minutes to go. Two free throws by Ctr Juandrico Walker after a loose ball foul made it 67-58 with 6:57 left, and a single free throw by SF Marvin White made it 70-60 with 3:58 remaining.
Despite losing starting Ctr Daniel Gunther, who fouled out on the play that led to White's free throw, Foothill stayed close and cut into the deficit in the final minute. Two free throws by SF Gabriel Martins with 56.2 seconds left made it 75-69. The Owls got the ball back moments later on a turnover, but SG J.J. Espinolla's 3-point try missed. Lassen got pairs of free throws from SF Benson Arogbo and White in the final 36.4 seconds to clinch the win.
Early on, it looked like Lassen might run away with the game as the Cougars jumped out to an early 21-9 lead after a 3-pointer by PG Deontay Holloman. The Cougars also led by 11 at 23-12, but then Foothill rallied with a 14-2 run, briefly taking a lead on a pair of free throws by Gunther that made it 26-25 with 5:46 left in the first half. The game was played on even terms after that, with the score tied at 34 at the break and 45-all several minutes into the second half before Lassen took the lead for good.
Watts led all scorers with his 20 pts, which came on 9-for-10 from the floor, and he made his last 5 shots. PF Dashun Johnson had 15 pts and 6 rebs. White had 11 pts, 7 rebs and a team-high 6 asts. Ctr Denzel Famble grabbed a game-high 9 rebs despite leaving with an apparent ankle injury about the time Lassen took the lead for good. All 11 Lassen players scored at least a point.
For Foothill, PG Janvier Alaby scored a team-high 16 pts and added 7 rebs and a game-high 7 asts. PF Seth Turner had a stong game with 15 pts, 8 rebs, 5 asts and 4 steals. Espinolla had 14 pts, including 3 threes, and Martins had 14 pts and 4 rebs. But the Foothill bench was outscored by the Lassen bench 41-6.
box score
2013 West Valley Tournament
Saturday. December 21st @ West Valley College, Saratoga
Consolation Final - 12 noon
Lassen Cougars 81:
0-Meshawn Beard, PG - 3/5 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 8 pts
3-Marvin White, SF - 3/8 fg, 4/6 ft, 7 reb, 6 ast, 2 pf, 11 pts
12-Denzel Famble, C - 0/4 fg, 1/2 ft, 9 reb,. 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 pf, 1 pt
23-Lawrence Otis, SG - 2/8 fg, 2 reb, 1 stl, 1 pf, 5 pts
33-Dashun Johnson, PF - 4/8 fg, 7/8 ft, 6 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 15 pts
4-Lawrence Melton, F - 2/4 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 6 pts
11-Jake McCoy, G - 1/6 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 3 pts
22-Juandrico Walker, C - 1/1 fg, 2/4 ft, 6 reb, 2 ast, 4 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 4 pts
24-Tyler Watts, G - 9/10 fg, 1/2 ft, 3 reb 1 stl, 1 pf, 20 pts
32-Deontay Holloman, G - 2/4 fg, 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 3 pf, 6 pts
20-Benson Arogbo, F - 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 pf, 2 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 27/58 fg (.466), 21/30 ft (.700), 44 reb, 19 ast, 6 blk, 9 stl, 20 pf, 81 pts
3-pt fg (6): Holloman 2, Beard, White, Otis, Watts
Technical Fouls: White, McCoy
Turnovers (18): Melton 7, White 5, Walker 2, Beard, Famble, Otis, Holloman
Foothill Owls 70:
4-J.J. Espinolla, SG - 5/10 fg, 1/1 ft, 2 reb, 2 stl, 2 pf, 14 pts
12-Gabriel Martins, SF - 5/9 fg, 3/5 ft, 4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 14 pts
22-Janvier Alaby, PG - 6/12 fg, 4/7 ft, 7 reb, 7 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 16 pts
24-Seth Turner, PF - 5/11 fg, 3/5 ft, 8 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl, 2 pf, 15 pts
34-Daniel Gunther, C - 1/6 fg, 2/2 ft, 7 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk, 5 pf, 5 pts
10-Kyle Toth, G - 1/10 fg, 2/4 ft, 1 reb, 1 pf, 4 pts
13-Kevin Sweat, G - 0/2 fg, 1 reb, 2 pf, 0 pts
21-Gagandeep Chana, F - 1/1 fg, 1 reb, 1 blk, 2 pts
31-Christian Bybjerg, C - 1 reb, 2 pf, 0 pts
32-Jared Masarak, C - 0 pts
33-Ori Shapira, C - 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 7
Totals: 24/61 fg (.384), 15/24 ft (.625), 39 reb, 14 ast, 4 blk, 8 stl, 20 pf, 70 pts
3-pt fg (7): Espinolla 3, Turner 2, Martins, Gunther
Intentional Foul: Martins
Fouled Out: Gunther 3:58 left
Turnovers (18): Alaby 5, Turner 3, Martins 2, Gunther 2, Toth 2, Sweat 2, Espinolla, Bybjerg
Halftime Score: Tied at 34
Updated Records: Lassen (#8-North, #15-Calif) 12-7, Foothill (#12-North) 7-6
Lassen led 21-9 early, but Foothill went on a 14-2 run to lead 26-25.
It was tied at 45 before Lassen took a short lead and led the rest of the way.
Johnson (Lassen) was named to the All-Tournament team.
