SF Jelani Mitchell had 20 pts and 10 rebs, and PG Antonio Mayfield added 15 pts and 8 asts to lead Riverside to a 75-68 win over Orange Coast in the Third Place game of the 2013 Cougar Holiday Classic in Santa Clarita.
Riverside (6-10) ended the first half with a 10-0 run to lead by eight points at the half, and held a lead the rest of the way. The margin reached as many as 19 points midway through the second half, and though Orange Coast (6-11) continued to battle through the final few minutes, the margin was never closer than the final score.
In fact, aside from that 10-0 run, the game was played on even terms. Orange Coast jumped out to an early 8-2 advantage, only to see Riverside rally to take an 11-10 lead on a Mayfield 3-pointer midway through the first half. The lead went back and forth over the next few minutes, with Orange Coast holding a 26-24 lead at one point.
Then came the decisive 10-0 run. Ctr Anthony Rounds had a pair of baskets to make it 32-26, giving the Tigers their largest lead of the game to that point. Then Michell stole an inbounds pass and scored in the final seconds of the half to make it 34-26 at the break.
Early in the second half, Riverside started to pull away. Rounds scored off a pass from Mayfield to make it 38-28 in the opening seconds. A steal & lay-in by SG Robert James made it 40-28. Mitchell tapped away a pass on defense and then scored on a fast break to make it 52-37. Then he scored on a driving lay-up to make it 54-37. PF Keenan Braden scored on a putback to give Riverside a 56-37 lead midway through the second half.
Orange Coast battled to get back in the game, but was never quite able to catch up. SG Josiah Ganz was fouled trying a 3-pointer with 6:15 left and made all three resulting free throws to cut the deficit to 8 points at 64-56, and the Pirates were within 8 points several more times in the final minutes. But only after Ganz' 3-pointer in the final seconds were the Pirates able to get closer than 8 points.
For Riverside, Mitchell had 20 pts, 10 rebs, 3 asts and 2 steals. Mayfield had 15 pts and a game-high 8 asts, earning a spot on the all-tournament team. Rounds had a double-double with 11 pts and 10 rebs, and James had a strong all-around game with 10 pts, 5 rebs and 5 asts. Ctr Donald DJ Muepo came off the bench for 10 pts, 5 rebs, 4 steals and 2 blocked shots.
For Orange Coast, PF Devaun Evans had 21 pts, 5 rebs and 4 asts. Ctr Noah Prouse was also very impressive with 21 pts, 5 rebs and 5 blocked shots. Ganz chipped in with 11 pts including 2 threes and the 3 free throws from being fouled on another 3-pt attempt. But the Pirates were outrebounded, 51-32 by the taller Tigers and got just 4 points from their bench.
box score
2013 Cougar Holiday Classic
Sunday, December 29th @ College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita
Third Place Game - 1 pm
Riverside Tigers 75:
0-Jelani Mitchell, SF - 8/20 fg, 4/7 ft, 10 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 20 pts
2-Antonio Mayfield, PG - 3/8 fg, 8/10 ft, 3 reb, 8 ast, 1 stl, 15 pts
13-Keenan Braden, PF - 3/6 fg, 1/3 ft, 8 reb, 4 pf, 7 pts
21-Anthony Rounds, C - 5/9 fg, 1/2 ft, 10 reb, 4 pf, 11 pts
30-Robert James, SG - 4/12 fg, 1/3 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 10 pts
24-Ricky Williams, G - 1/4 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 2 pts
12-Chris Cook, F - 0/1 fg, 2 reb, 2 pf, 0 pts
25-Donald DJ Muepo, C - 5/7 fg, 0/2 ft, 5 reb, 2 blk, 4 stl, 4 pf, 10 pts
1-Yosimar Bernardez, G - 0 pts
23-Raymond Nelson, G - 1 reb, 0 pts
4-Shawn Joseph, G - 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 29/67 fg (.433), 15/27 ft (.556), 51 reb, 17 ast, 2 blk, 9 stl, 21 pf, 75 pts
3-pt fg (2): Mayfield, James
Flagrant Foul: Mitchell (FL-1)
Turnovers (17): Mitchell 4, Mayfield 4, Braden 2, James 2, Cook, Muepo, Joseph, team 2
Orange Coast Pirates 68:
4-Josiah Ganz, SG - 3/6 fg, 3/3 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 pf, 11 pts
5-Brad Buchignani, SF - 1/5 fg, 7 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 4 pf, 3 pts
13-Spencer Poston, PG - 4/11 fg, 0/1 ft, 1 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl, 4 pf, 8 pts
20-Devaun Evans, PF - 5/10 fg, 11/15 ft, 5 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 5 pf, 21 pts
33-Noah Prouse, C - 8/15 fg, 5/5 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 5 blk, 3 pf, 21 pts
32-Michael Niezner, C - 1/2 fg, 3 reb, 1 blk, 2 pts
15-Henry Nguyen, G - 0/3 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 0 pts
31-Aidan Ptasznik, F - 1 pf, 0 pts
3-Tim Pena, G - 0/2 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 0 pts
14-Wakim Wakim, F - 1/1 fg, 1 pf, 2 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 23/55 fg (.418), 19/24 ft (.792), 32 reb, 16 ast, 6 blk, 9 stl, 21 pf, 68 pts
3-pt fg (3): Ganz 2, Buchignani
Fouled Out: Evans 15 seconds left
Turnovers (19): Evans 4, Nguyen 4, Ganz 3, Prouse 3, Niezner 3, Buchignani, team
Halftime Score: Riverside 34, Orange Coast 26
Updated Records: Riverside 6-10, Orange Coast 6-11
Riverside finished the 1st half with a 10-0 run and led the entire 2nd half.
Mayfield (RCC) was named to the All-Tournament team.
