Ctr Darius Gordon had 24 pts and 16 rebs and PG Michael Balogun had 18 pts, including 5 three-pointers, and one very important steal as West Hills won a key Central Valley Conference game over #14 Sequioias Saturday night in Coalinga.
With second place in the CVC on the line, Gordon broke a 55-all tie with a free throw, and then made it 58-55 with a right-handed hook shot. Sequoias got within a point on a baseline jumper from PF Bill Borekambi and got the ball back with a chance to take the lead, but Balogun deflected a pass away to get the Falcons the ball back with 7.8 seconds left.
SG Tyler Davis then made two free throws for West Hills (16-10, 7-3) to make it 60-57. Sequoias still had a chance to tie the game, but SF Chris Dixon's last-second 3-point try bounced off the rim and out.
West Hills led virtually the entire game, taking a 12-6 lead after a 10-0 run early in the second quarter to erase an early 6-2 Sequoias lead. Balogun's first 3-pointer of the night finished the run and made it 12-6.
West Hills led by as many as seven points at 18-11 in the first half. But Sequoias (16-11, 6-5) closed the gap to a single point after three straight baskets from Borekambi and trailed by five points at the half despite shooting just 32% from the floor in the first half and allowing West Hills a 22-13 rebounding advantage.
Davis hit a 3-pointer for West Hills in the opening seconds of the second half to make it 29-21, and the Falcons led by as many as 10 points at 52-42 after a baseline floater by SF Kennis White with 9:27 left in the game.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by PG Jermaine Dansby helped Sequoias get back in the game, however, and the Giants then got a 3-pointer from SG Troy Norris to get within a point at 52-51. A bit later, Norris tied the game at 55 with two free throws with 3:25 left, but then Gordon put West Hills back in front and the Falcons held on for the win.
Gordon, a 6-7 sophomore from Bayonne NJ by way of Eastern Wyoming JC, had a huge game with 24 pts on 11-for-19 including a 3-pointer plus 16 rebs - twice as many as anyone else - and 3 asts, a block and a steal. Balogun had 18 pts, and Davis chipped in with 10 for the Falcons.
For Sequoias, Borekambi and Norris each had 19 pts. Borekambi also had a team-high 8 rebs plus 2 asts, a block and a steal, while Norris had 6 pts, 4 asts, 3 steals and a blocked shot. Dansby had just the 6 pts on the back-to-back 3-pointers, but also dished out a game-high 5 asts and grabbed 2 steals.
box score
Saturday, February 11, 2012 - 7 pm
at West Hills College, Coalinga
Central Valley Conference
Sequoias Giants 57:
3-Troy Norris, SG - 5/10 fg, 8/8 ft, 6 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 2 pf, 19 pts
11-Jermaine Dansby, PG - 2/8 fg, 2 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 1 pf, 6 pts
15-Bill Borekambi, PF - 8/20 fg, 3/3 ft, 8 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 19 pts
22-Chris Dixon, SF - 1/5 fg, 1/2 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 2 pf, 4 pts
30-Marte Sears, C - 2/5 fg, 0/2 ft, 4 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl, 2 pf, 4 pts
5-Anthony Trammell, G - 1/3 fg, 1/3 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 3 pts
13-Adrian Pascua, G - 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 1 pf, 0 pts
50-Abel Watts, C - 0/1 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 2 pf, 2 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 19/53 fg (.358), 15/20 ft (.750), 30 reb, 16 ast, 4 blk, 11 stl, 13 pf, 57 pts
3-pt fg (4): Dansby 2, Dixon, Norris
Turnovers (10): Dansby 3, Borekambi 3, Norris, Dixon, Sears, Trammell
West Hills Falcons 60:
12-Tyler Davis, SG - 3/6 fg, 2/4 ft, 1 reb, 2 ast, 3 pf, 10 pts
20-Michael Balogun, PG - 6/12 fg, 1/1 ft, 4 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 18 pts
22-Darius Gordon, C - 11/19 fg, 1/3 fg, 16 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 24 pts
23-Ahmir Bailey, PF - 1/3 fg, 7 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 2 pts
42-Kennis White, SF - 1/5 fg, 2 reb, 3 ast, 3 pf, 2 pts
32-Brad Simas, F - 2/3 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 4 pts
10-Chase Polk, F - 0/3 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 0 pts
2-Arazi Simmons, G - 1 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 0 pts
40-Corey Davis, C - 0/1 fg, 1 stl, 2 pf, 0 pts
24-Wilton Booth, G - 0 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 24/52 fg (.462), 4/8 ft (.500), 37 reb, 21 ast, 2 blk, 7 stl, 16 pf, 60 pts
3-pt fg (8): Balogun 5, T.Davis 2, Gordon
Turnovers (18): White 5, T.Davis 3, Balogun 2, Gordon 2, Bailey 2, Polk 2, Simas, C.Davis
Halftime Score: West Hills 26, Sequoias 21
Updated Records: West Hills 16-10 overall, 7-3 in CVC; Sequoias (#14-North) 16-11 overall, 6-5 in CVC
COS led 6-2 until West Hills went on a 10-0 run to take a 12-6 lead.
West Hills led by as many as 10 points at 52-42 with 9:27 left
Sequoias tied it at 55 with 3:25 left but never re-took the lead.
Gordon made 1 FT and a hook shot to make it 58-55. Borekambi made a jumper for COS to make it 58-57.
Balogun stole a pass and T.Davis made 2 FTs with 8.7 seconds left for West Hills. Dixon's last-second 3-pointer bounced off the rim for COS.
