LA Southwest (12-7) shot a sizzling 73% from the floor in the second half, blowing open a close game and romping to a 92-73 win over Orange Coast (4-11) in a consolation game at the SJCC Holiday Tournament Friday afternoon.
After leading by just a point at the half, Southwest made 22 of 30 shots in the second half, many on lay-ups, scoring 58 second-half points and advancing to the consolation final a day after losing to an injury-depleted Santa Rosa team in the tournament's first round.
And in the first half, Southwest again struggled, leading by just one point at 34-33 after a 3-pointer by SG Jenero Jefferson in the last minute of the first half.
But when the second half began, Southwest gradually pulled away, pushing the lead into double digits on a pair of free throws by Ctr Jejuan Brown that made it 59-49 with 12:41 left. SF Andrew Campbell scored on a feed from PG Dante Maddox to push the lead beyond twenty, making it 80-59 with 5:50 left. A three by SF Chris Smith moments later pushed the lead to 24 at 83-59, and Orange Coast never threatened after that.
For Southwest, Smith led the way with 24 pts (4 threes) and 10 asts. Brown had a strong game as well with 22 pts and 7 rebs. Jefferson came off the bench to scored 11 pts and Campbell had 9 pts. SG Kendrick Harris had an excellent game with 9 pts, 9 asts and 5 steals for the Cougars. And PF Tylon Bickman was a huge defensive presence with 3 blocks, 2 steals and a game-high 10 rebs.
For Orange Coast, PG Brian Molina led the way with 15 pts - all on threes - and 3 asts. Ctr Brian Helmuth had 13 pts and 5 rebs. And SF Shaun Engle had 10 pts, 5 rebs and a team-high 6 asts.
box score
Friday, December 28, 2007 - 2 pm
SJCC Holiday Tournament @ Evergreen Valley College
Consolation Semifinal
LA Southwest Cougars 92:
3-Dante Maddox, PG - 3/6 fg, 5 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 1 pf, 7 pts
20-Tremayne Johnson, PF - 2/2 fg, 0/1 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 4 pts
22-Chris Smith, SF - 8/14 fg, 4/4 ft, 2 reb, 10 ast, 1 stl, 24 pts
23-Kendrick Harris, SG - 4/8 fg, 1/2 ft, 5 reb, 9 ast, 5 stl, 3 pf, 9 pts
50-Jejuan Brown, C - 9/12 fg, 4/8 ft, 7 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl, 4 pf, 22 pts
42-Tylon Bickman, F - 3/5 fg, 0/1 ft, 10 reb, 3 blk, 2 stl, 2 pf, 6 pts
1-Jenero Jefferson, G - 4/5 fg, 0/2 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 pf, 11 pts
11-Andrew Campbell, F - 4/4 fg, 1/4 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 4 pf, 9 pts
33-Alan Mitchell, F - 1 pf, 0 pts
31-Dominic Gibbs, F - 0/1 fg, 0 pts
30-Tobi Otomosho, F - 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 7
Totals: 37/57 fg (.644), 10/22 ft (.455), 45 reb, 30 ast, 5 blk, 12 stl, 17 pf, 92 pts
3-pt fg (8): Smith 4, Jefferson 3, Maddox
Turnovers (29): Maddox 6, Smith 6, Harris 5, Johnson 3, Jefferson 3, Browon 2, Bickman, Campbell, Gibbs, team
Orange Coast Pirates 73:
3-Brian Molina, PG - 5/8 fg, 1 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 15 pts
11-Matthew Ching, SG - 1/5 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 4 pf, 2 pts
24-Shaun Engle, SF - 5/9 fg, 0/1 ft, 5 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 10 pts
33-Brian Helmuth, C - 5/9 fg, 2/2 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 2 pf, 13 pts
42-Terry Martin, PF - 4/13 fg, 7 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 8 pts
4-Tres Saldivar, G - 1/2 fg, 1 pf, 3 pts
13-Calvin Guess, F - 0/3 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 2 pf, 2 pts
15-Nico Saldivar, G - 1/2 fg, 3 ast, 1 stl, 2 pts
25-Allen Lezama, F - 0/1 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 reb, 3 pf, 1 pt
32-Jonathan Brown, F - 1/2 fg, 1/4 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 3 pts
14-Brian Gee, F - 2/7 fg, 2 reb, 1 stl, 1 pf, 5 pts
40-Nicholas Milan, F - 3/4 fg, 3/3 ft, 9 pts
20-Vinnie Nasca, G - 2 ast, 2 pf, 0 pts
5-MyKale Hall, F - 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 0 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 28/66 fg (.424), 9/14 ft (.643), 27 reb, 19 ast, 1 blk, 9 stl, 18 pf, 73 pts
3-pt fg (8): Molina 5, Helmuth, T.Saldivar, Gee
Turnovers (23): Engle 4, Molina 3, Martin 3, Helmuth 2, Lezama 2, Brown 2, Milan 2, Ching, Guess, N.Saldivar, Gee, Hall
Halftime Score: LA Southwest 34, Orange Coast 33
Updated Records: LA Southwest 12-7, Orange Coast 4-11
LA Southwest shot 73.3% from the floor in the 2nd half
