Ctr Adom Jacko scored 15 pts, earning a berth on the all-tournament team, while PF Jeff Nibo scored 14 and SG John Gilliam had 13 for #2 Chaffey in an 80-68 win over Palomar in the consolation final of the Cougar Holiday Classic at College of the Canyons.
Chaffey (16-3) took a 37-23 lead at the half and held a double-digit lead the rest of the way in a game that was not as close as the final score makes it look. Palomar (5-10) got 3 three-pointers from SG Aaron Roedl in the final minute-plus to cut into what had been a 23-point Chaffey advantage.
Chaffey held a modest 26-18 lead until Jacko converted an alley-oop pass from Gilliam and threw down a dunk despite being fouled with 4:01 left in the first half. He made the resulting free throw to make it 29-18, and Chaffey led by double figures the rest of the way.
SF Roderick Evans-Taylor scored inside to make it 31-18. Gilliam split 2 free throws with 2:32 left in the half to make it 32-18. Jacko scored in the final seconds of the half to give the Panthers a 37-23 lead at the break.
When the second half started, Chaffey continued to widen the gap, with a tremendos 4-part effort by Nibo setting the tone. On the defensive end, Nibo tapped the ball away from a Palomar dribbler, then chased down the loose ball. Then he passed the ball out to a teammate for a fast break. That resulting lay-up missed, but Nibo trailed the play and raced in for the putback basket.
Palomar cut the deficit to 12 points after a 3-pointer by Ctr Jeremy Franklin with just over 13 minutes left that made it 49-37. Chaffey pushed the lead back to 19 on a 3-pointer by SG Devyn Sampson and a free throw by Jacko with 8:58 left that made it 62-43. But Palomar got within 14 one last time at 63-49 a few minutes later.
Then, finally, Chaffey took complete control of the game with a 11-2 run. A jumper by PG Julian Nichols made it 66-49. Jacko made 2 free throws with 5:44 left to make it 68-49, and scored inside with 4:15 left to make it 72-51. A steal & lay-up by Nichols pushed the lead to 23 at 74-51 with 3:41 left, and clinched the outcome of the game.
For Chaffey, Jacko had a team-high 15 pts and tied for game honors with 8 rebs. Nibo had 14 pts, including 3 threes, plus 4 rebs, 3 asts and 3 steals. Gilliam had 13 pts, 8 rebs and 3 asts. Nichols had 5 pts, a team-high 4 asts, 2 steals and just one turnover.
For Palomar, Roedl scored a game-high 16 pts, which included 5 threes. Franklin had 13 pts and PG Marley Simmons had 11. PF Derick Jones - one of four starters listed at 6-2 or smaller for the Comets - had 10 pts and a game-high 7 asts. Ctr Jalen Martin came off the bench and muscled his way to 6 pts and a team-high 7 rebs.
box score
2013 Cougar Holiday Classic
Sunday, December 29th @ College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita
Consolation Final - 11 am
Chaffey Panthers 80:
1-Adom Jacko, C - 4/11 fg, 7/9 ft, 8 reb, 1 ast, 3 pf, 15 pts
5-Roderick Evans-Taylor, SF - 4/8 fg, 3 reb, 1 stl, 9 pts
10-Julian Nichols, PG - 2/4 fg, 1/4 ft, 2 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 5 pts
11-John Gilliam, SG - 4/7 fg, 4/7 ft, 8 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 4 pf, 13 pts
35-Jeff Nibo, PF - 4/7 fg, 3/4 ft, 4 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 4 pf, 14 pts
32-Andre Wilson, G - 1/4 fg, 1/1 ft, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 pf, 3 pts
12-Cassie Hough, G - 3/6 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 8 pts
14-Pape Seck, C - 3/3/ fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 6 pts
24-Devyn Sampson, F - 2/2 fg, 0/2 ft, 5 stl, 6 pts
34-Tyler Shea, C - 3 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 0 pts
4-Breejae Flonnoy, G - 1/2 ft, 1 ast, 1 pt
25-Mufaro Murinda, F - 0/1 fg, 1 pf, 0 pts
2-Chris Fowler, G - 1 reb, 1 ast, 0 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 27/53 fg (.509), 19/31 ft (.613), 48 reb, 19 ast, 2 blk, 14 stl, 22 pf, 80 pts
3-pt fg (7): Nibo 3, Sampson 2, Evans-Taylor, Gilliam
Technical Foul: Gilliam
Turnovers (15): Nibo 3, Wilson 3, Gilliam 2, Fowler 2, Nichols, Hough, Seck, Sampson, Shea
Palomar Comets 68:
3-Marley Simmons, PG - 2/3 fg, 5/8 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 5 pf, 11 pts
4-Derick Jones, PF - 3/13 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 10 pts
5-Josiah Dennis, SG - 2/6 fg, 3/3 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 1 pf, 7 pts
23-Jeremy Franklin, C - 5/12 fg, 1/3 ft, 4 reb, 2 ast, 4 pf, 13 pts
24-Aaron Roedl, SF - 5/12 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 pf, 16 pts
22-James Sampson, G - 1/2 fg, 3 reb, 2 pf, 3 pts
42-Jalen Martin, C - 2/4 fg, 2/4 ft, 7 reb, 2 stl, 3 pf, 6 pts
21-Devin Fountain, F - 1 reb, 1 ast, 3 pf, 0 pts
10-Braxton Smith, G - 2/3 ft, 3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 2 pts
30-Tucker Corbin, F - 1 ast, 0 pts
33-Travis Stephens, F - 1 reb, 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 20/52 fg (.385), 16/25 ft (.640), 32 reb, 16 ast, 1 blk, 7 stl, 24 pf, 68 pts
3-pt fg (12): Roedl 5, Simmons 2, Jones 2, Franklin 2, Sampson
Fouled Out: Simmons 1:44 left
Turnovers (20): Jones 6, Smith 4, Dennis 3, Simmons 2, Martin 2, Franklin, Roedl, Fountain
Halftime Score: Chaffey 37, Palomar 23
Updated Records: Chaffey (#2-South, #3-Calif) 16-3, Palomar 5-10
Jacko (Chaffey) was named to the All-Tournament team.
