Its often said that its difficult to beat a good team three times in a row, but #1 (N) Fresno turned the trick against #4 (S) Bakersfield Tuesday afternoon, holding on for a 76-73 win to remain undefeated and capture the championship of the Hancock Holiday Classic.
The game marked the third time this season Fresno (20-0) and Bakersfield (15-5) have met in the championship game of a tournament. And early on it looked like Bakersfield might turn the tables and knock off the Rams. Then, after Fresno built a 10-point lead in the second half, Bakersfield rallied in the final minute and lost only when a last-second 3-pointer bounced off the rim and out.
Bakersfield started the game well, jumping out to a 19-5 lead in the first 7:12. And though Fresno rallied to get within 5 points at 19-14, Bakersfield continued to lead the rest of the first half and had a 39-30 lead late until a 3-pointer by Fresno SF Brian Johnson made it 39-33 at the break.
But in the second half, Fresno erased the rest of the Bakersfield lead, tying the game on a basket by PF Edward Willis that made it 42-42 just over three minutes into the half. Bakersfield went back into the lead on a 3-pointer by SF Jerome Grayson, but that lead would be short-lived.
SF Asante Gaskin, who would be named tourney MVP, scored the next 6 points of the game as Fresno took its first lead since the opening minutes of the game. A pair of free throws brought the Rams within a point at 47-46. Then a FG+FT 3-point play made it 49-47 with 15:14 left in the game. And just over a minute later, Gaskin added another free throw to make it 50-47.
And Fresno continued the run with a 3-pointer by PF Russell Gregory and a driving lay-up by Ctr George De Leon that made it 55-47. A pair of free throws from SG Aaron Hill completed the 12-0 run, making it 57-47 with 11:46 left.
Fresno held that lead the rest of the way, but Bakersfield fought back to make it close in the final minutes. A driving lay-up by SG Jamar Harrison brought the Renegades within 6 points at 66-60 with about 5 minutes left. And the Renegades got a little closer just more than a minute later when a pair of Harrison free throws made it 67-63 with 3:52 left. And after Fresno got a basket from Ctr Brent Grice, PG Skyler Vaden drained a 3-pointer for Bakersfield to make it 69-66 with just under 3 minutes remaining.
But Bakersfield could never quite pull even. After Fresno pushed the lead back to7 at 73-66, Bakersfield got back within 2 points at 73-71 in the final minute. A pair of free throws by Gaskin made it 75-71, but Vaden answered for Bakersfield with a lay-up to make it 75-73 with 12 seconds left. Bakersfield had no choice but to foul and sent PG Sultan Toles-Bey to the line with 11 seconds left. But Toles-Bey made just one of his two free throws, leaving Bakersfield one last chance to tie the game.
The Renegades almost didnt get that chance when Willis stole a pass for Fresno under the basket. But Willis went to the floor and was called for a travel with 5 seconds left. Unfortunately for the Renegades, they were out of timeouts, having called their last one with 4:05 remaining. When play resumed, the ball went to Harrison, who tried a contested, fall-away 3-pointer in the final seconds. The shot hit the rim but bounced out, allowing Fresno to hold on for the win.
Toles-Bey led Fresno in scoring with 14 pts, and he also dished out a team-high 3 asts. Gaskin added 13 pts and 5 rebs, and was named tournament MVP. Hill added 10 pts plus 4 rebs, 2 asts and 3 steals, while Willis came off the bench to add 10 pts on 4-of-5 from the floor. DeLeon had just 6 pts and battled foul trouble all game before fouling out with 5:50 left; his 48 pts in the first two games of the tournament gained him a spot on the all-tournament team.
For Bakersfield, Harrison led the way with 25 pts on 10-of-15 shooting, and he also had 5 rebs and 3 asts. Vaden added 11 pts, 5 rebs and 3 asts and joined Harrison on the all-tournament team. Grayson came off the bench to add 11 pts for the Renegades. And Ctr Brad Santos a strong overall game off the bench with 8 pts, 6 rebs, 2 blocks and 3 steals.
box score
Tuesday, December 31, 2008 7 pm
Hancock Holiday Classic @ Joe White Memorial Gymnasium, Santa Maria
Championship Game
Fresno Rams 76:
2-Sultan Toles-Bey, PG 5/14 fg, 1/4 ft, 3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 14 pts
3-Aaron Hill, SG 1/7 fg, 7/8 ft, 4 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 2 pf, 10 pts
15-George DeLeon, C 2/4 fg, 2/4 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 5 pf, 6 pts
21-Russell Gregory, PF 2/5 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 6 pts
32-Asante Gaskin, SF 3/8 fg, 7/9 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 3 pf, 13 pts
4-Edward Willis, F 4/5 fg, 2/3 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 10 pts
20-Sterling Miller, G 2/2 fg, 1 reb, 5 pts
22-Donnell Fleming, F 1/2 fg, 1 ast, 1 pf, 3 pts
33-Brent Grice, C 1/2 fg, 2/6 ft, 6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 4 pts
31-Taylor Young, G 1/1 fg, 1 reb, 1 stl, 2 pts
34-Brian Johnson, F 1/2 fg, 1 reb, 3 pts
1-Luis Quinones, C 1 reb, 2 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 23/52 fg (.442), 21/34 ft (.618), 33 reb, 12 ast, 1 blk, 9 stl, 16 pf, 76 pts
3-pt fg (9): Toles-Bey 3, Gregory 2, Hill, Miller, Fleming, Johnson
Fouled Out: DeLeon 5:50 left
Turnovers (17): Toles-Bey 3, Hill 3, DeLeon 2, Willis 2, Grice 2, Gregory, Gaskin, Miller, Fleming, Quinones
Bakersfield Renegades 73:
11-Skyler Vaden, PG 4/9 fg, 5 reb, 3 ast, 1 pf, 11 pts
22-Jamar Harrison, SG 10/15 fg, 5/5 ft, 5 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 25 pts
34-Eion Lewis, SF 3/7 fg, 0/2 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 4 pf, 6 pts
40-Luis Gomez, PF 0/3 fg, 0 pts
42-Alex Olcott, C 0/2 fg, 1/2 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 4 pf, 1 pt
3-Ricky Wofford, G 2/5 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 3 pf, 5 pts
21-Jerome Grayson, F 4/8 fg, 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 3 pf, 11 pts
23-Darrin Dorsey, F 0/3 fg, 2 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 0 pts
15-Emanuel Kirby, G 2/2 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 4 pts
55-Marquise Venson, G 1/2 fg, 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 pf, 2 pts
44-Brad Santos, C 3/4 fg, 2/4 ft, 6 reb, 2 blk, 3 stl, 3 pf, 8 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 29/60 fg (.483), 8/13 ft (.615), 35 reb, 20 ast, 5 blk, 5 stl, 24 pf, 73 pts
3-pt fg (7): Vaden 3, Grayson 3, Wofford
Turnovers (20): Gomez 4, Vaden 3, Lewis 3, Wofford 3, Harrison 2, Dorsey, Kirby, Venson, Santos, team
Halftime Score: Bakersfield 39, Fresno 33
Updated Records: Fresno (#1-North) 20-0, Bakersfield (#4-South) 15-5
This is the 3rd time this season Fresno had defeated Bakersfield, but it was the closest of the three closely-contested game.
Bakersfield led 19-5 early on. Fresno led by 10 multiple times in the second half.
Bakersfield had one last chance to tie it but Harrisons 3-pointer in the final seconds hit the rim.
Gaskin (FCC) was named tourney MVP. DeLeon (FCC), Harrison (BC) and Vaden (BC) were named to the all-tournament team
