Five players scored in double figures as #4 Antelope Valley pulled away in the second half for an 84-66 win over Ventura in the first round of the 2011 Cougar Holiday Classic Tuesday afternoon in Santa Clarita.
Antelope Valley (10-2) held just a 5-point lead at halftime, but held Ventura to 22% shooting in the second half and outrebounded the Pirates, 27-23, after halftime.
AVC started the second half with a 10-2 run to build a 54-41 lead. Ventura (7-8) answered with an 11-3 run to rally to within five points at 57-52 after a 3-pointer by SG Joe Soto. But that would be Soto's last made shot of the game, and AVC went on a 12-1 run to push its lead back to 16 points and take control of the game.
AVC started the game well, jumping out to a 9-2 lead in the opening minutes and building a 23-13 lead after a 3-pointer by SF Chris Bridges with just over 8 minutes left until halftime.
But Ventura rallied, tying the game on a Soto 3-pointer with 3:18 left before halftime and taking a 36-35 lead on another Soto 3-pointer less than a minute later.
Antelope Valley went back in front on a 3-pointer by SG Joshua Blaylock and held a 44-39 lead at halftime. But the scant five-point lead hardly seemed safe, particulary after AVC shot 51% with just 3 turnovers in the first half and ended up with such a small lead. Ventura's 22-13 rebounding edge to that point was certainly a factor.
But AVC tightened its defense and shored up its rebounding in the second half, and eventually took control of the game. A 3-pointer by SG Jason Johnson started the final 12-1 run, and Johnson had a pair of free throws after a bske by Ctr Vadal Faniel to make it 64-52 with 11:17 left. A 3rd-chance putback by Ctr Dwan Caldwell nmade it 66-52, and another Blaylock 3-pointer made it 69-53. AVC led handily the rest of the way.
PG Da'Shawn Gomez had 15 pts, 8 rebs and 5 asts, and Johnson also had 15 pts for the victorious Marauders. Blaylock came off the bench for 11 pts, including 3 threes. Caldwell had 10 pts and 9 rebs, and PF Reggie Murphy had 10 pts and 6 rebs. Bridges had 6 pts, 5 asts and 4 steals; SG Michaelynn Scott had 6 pts and 6 asts off the bench.
For Ventura, Ctr Corey Hall had a tremendous game with 21 pts and 17 rebs, both game-highs. Soto had 13 pts, 4 rebs and 2 asts, but missed his last 10 shots of the game as AVC pulled away. PG Zalmico Harmon had 11 pts and a game-high 8 asts, but also had 9 turnovers.
box score
2011 Cougar Holiday Classic
Tuesday, December 27th @ College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita
First Round - 1 pm
Ventura Pirates 66:
1-Joe Soto, SG - 4/19 fg, 1/2 ft, 4 reb, 2 ast, 3 pf, 13 pts
3-Zalmico Harmon, PG - 2/11 fg, 7/9 ft, 3 reb, 8 ast, 3 pf, 11 pts
22-Corey Hall, C - 8/14 fg, 3/4 ft, 17 reb, 2 ast, 2 pf, 21 pts
32-Dalton Francis, PF - 2/4 fg, 1 reb, 1 stl, 2 pf, 4 pts
41-Austin Ramljak, SF - 3/13 fg, 1/2 ft, 7 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 9 pts
13-Israel Ibarra, F - 1 pf, 0 pts
15-Steven Plantenberg, F - 1/4 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 5 pts
44-Josh Marcus, F - 1/1 fg, 1/1 ft, 4 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 4 pf, 3 pts
25-Brandon Edwards, F - 1 reb, 1 pf, 0 pts
11-Brock Taylor, G - 1 reb, 0 pts
21-???, F - 0 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 21/66 fg (.318), 15/20 ft (.750), 45 reb, 15 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl, 17 pf, 66 pts
3-pt fg (9): Soto 4, Hall 2, Ramljak 2, Plantenberg
Turnovers (20): Harmon 9, Soto 3, Hall 2, Francis 2, Plantenberg 2, Ramljak, Marcus
Antelope Valley Marauders 84:
10-Da'Shawn Gomez, PG - 5/11 fg, 3/4 ft, 8 reb, 5 ast, 2 pf, 15 pts
11-Jason Johnson, SG - 5/12 fg, 4/4 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 pf, 15 pts
20-Chris Bridges, SF - 2/6 fg, 1 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl, 2 pf, 6 pts
34-Reggie Murphy, PF - 4/6 fg, 2/4 ft, 6 reb, 2 ast, 2 pf, 10 pts
42-Dwan Caldwell, C - 5/9 fg, 0/1 ft, 9 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 10 pts
22-Vadal Faniel, C - 1/4 fg, 0/1 ft, 4 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl, 2 pf, 2 pts
12-Michaelynn Scott, G - 3/8 fg, 4 reb, 6 ast, 6 pts
24-Larry Slaughter, F - 2/2 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 5 pts
21-Sean Boston, F - 1/3 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 2 pts
3-Joshua Blaylock, G - 4/6 fg, 1 pf, 11 pts
2-Terrance Berry, F - 1/1 fg, 1 reb, 2 stl, 1 pf, 2 pts
32-John Washington, C - 1 blk, 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 33/68 fg (.485), 10/16 ft (.625), 40 reb, 23 ast, 2 blk, 11 stl, 18 pf, 84 pts
3-pt fg (8): Blaylock 3, Gomez 2, Bridges 2, Johnson
Technical Foul: Faniel
Turnovers (11): Johnson 3, Scott 3, Gomez 2, Bridges, Caldwell, Berry
Halftime Score: Antelope Valley 44, Ventura 39
Updated Records: Antelope Valley (#4-South, #8-Calif) 10-2, Ventura 7-8
AVC went on a 12-1 run to lead 69-53 midway through the 2nd half and led by double digits the rest of the way
