College of the Canyons got its first WSC-South win of the year and dealt a serious blow to the playoff hopes of West LA with a 67-61 overtime win Wednesday night in Santa Clarita.
After four consecutive winning seasons, three of which ended with at least a share of the WSC-South title, it's been a struggle this season for Canyons. After an upset win over Antelope Valley in the Glendale tournament in December, COC had endured a 9-game losing streak, including an 0-8 start in conference play.
And West LA badly needed to get the win in this game. The Oilers entered play 5th in the ultra-competitive WSC-South with a 4-5 record, though they were an impressive 17-11 overall.
But the Cougars came away victorious, thanks largely to their excellent free throw shooting, as well as the Oilers' struggles from the charity stripe. COC made 21 of 27 free throws (78%) while West LA made just 17 of 39 (44%) on the night.
West LA began the game well enough, opening a 6-1 lead in the opening minutes. But COC rallied to tie the game at 6, and the game was close the rest of the way. West LA held a 23-19 halftime lead, but Canyons rallied to take a 36-35 lead on a pair of free throws, fittingly enough, with 9:37 remaining.
The lead went back and forth after that, with Canyons getting a clutch 3-pointer from SG Jason Holzwarth with 23 seconds left to take a 52-50 lead. But PF Jerard Moret scored on a scoop shot from the lane with 5 seconds left to tie the game at 52 and send it to overtime.
In the extra session, Canyons scored first on a left-handed lay-up by SF Joel Spriggs with 4:05 left and never lost that lead. Holzwarth made a pair of free throws with 2:32 left to make it a two-possession game at 58-54. After a free throw by West LA's Moret made it 58-55, Ctr Donjay Kakonde made a pair of free throws for Canyons to make it 60-55 with 1:29 left. A free throw by Holzwarth made it 61-55 with 59 seconds left.
West LA closed the gap to 3 points at 64-61 on a pair of free throws by Moret with 22 seconds left, but that would be as close as the Oilers would get. West LA had no choice but to foul, and Holzwarth made a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left to make it 66-61. Then, after a West LA turnover on the inbounds pass, Holzwarth was again fouled and made one of two free throws with 12 seconds left to make it 67-61.
For Canyons, Holzwarth had 16 pts, including 6 - all on free throws - in overtime. PG Brian Kimble had 11 pts, 7 rebs and 7 asts. PF Justin Smith added 11 pts and 7 rebs before fouling out. Kakonde had an excellent game with 10 pts, 9 rebs and 8 blocked shots. And SF Joel Spriggs, the last man into the game for COC, chipped in with 13 pts on 6-of-7 shooting.
For West LA, Moret led the way with 18 pts, 17 of which came in the second half and overtime. PG Justin Archie had 10 pts, 7 rebs, 3 asts and 5 steals. But they were the only Oilers to reach double figures. SF Tim Jackson had 9 pts while Ctr Josh Jordan had 8 pts and a team-high 9 rebs.
With the win, COC improves to 7-18 on the season and 1-8 in the conference. West LA falls to 17-11 overall and 4-6 in the WSC-South, and now must win its last two games (vs. LA Valley and Santa Monica) to finish .500 in the conference.
box score
Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - 7:30 pm
at the Cougar Cage, Santa Clarita
WSC-South
West LA Oilers 61:
5-Chanderrick (Sean) Tyson, SG - 2/9 fg, 0/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 blk, 2 pf, 5 pts
12-Justin Archie, PG - 3/12 fg, 4/5 ft, 7 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl, 4 pf, 10 pts
21-Tim Jackson, SF - 4/11 fg, 1/3 ft, 3 reb, 4 pf, 9 pts
33-Jerard Moret, PF - 4/15 fg, 9/18 ft, 6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 18 pts
44-Craig Rodgers, C - 3/5 fg, 0/3 ft, 5 reb, 2 blk, 3 pf, 6 pts
34-Hanif Madyun, F - 1/4 fg, 0/2 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 2 pts
4-Chris Williams, G - 1/1 fg, 1/1 ft, 1 reb, 1 pf, 3 pts
32-Josh Jordan, C - 3/6 fg, 2/5 ft, 9 reb, 3 stl, 8 pts
25-Chris Carter, G - 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 21/63 fg (.333), 17/39 ft (.436), 43 reb, 9 ast, 3 blk, 11 stl, 22 pf, 61 pts
3-pt fg (2): Tyson, Moret
Turnovers (16): Moret 4, Tyson 2, Archie 2, Madyun 2, Williams 2, Jordan 2, Jackson, Rodgers
Canyons Cougars 67:
12-Jason Holzwarth, SG - 4/12 fg, 6/8 ft, 5 reb, 4 ast, 2 pf, 16 pts
21-Justin Smith, PF - 5/10 fg, 1/1 ft, 7 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 5 pf, 11 pts
23-Brian Kimble, PG - 2/7 fg, 7/8 ft, 7 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 11 pts
24-Travis Hayden, SF - 0/2 fg, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 0 pts
42-Donjay Kakonde, C - 2/5 fg, 6/8 ft, 9 reb, 1 ast, 8 blk, 4 pf, 10 pts
32-Behrang Behjoo, F - 1 ast, 3 pf, 0 pts
44-Marc Rosenberg, C - 1/1 fg, 1 reb, 1 pf, 2 pts
11-Kevin Bruce, G - 0/1 fg, 1 stl, 0 pts
34-Brian Nwaeke, F - 2/2 fg, 4 reb, 4 pf, 4 pts
30-Joel Spriggs, F - 6/7 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 pf, 13 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 22/47 fg (.468), 21/27 ft (.778), 38 reb, 17 ast, 11 blk, 4 stl, 28 pf, 67 pts
3-pt fg (2): Holzwarth 2
Fouled Out: Smith 2:24 left
Turnovers (24): Kimble 7, Holzwarth 5, Hayden 3, Kakonde 3, Smith 2, Rosenberg 2, Bruce, Nwaeke
Halftime Score: West LA 23, Canyons 19
End of Regulation: Tied at 52
Updated Records: Canyons 7-18, 1-8 in WSC-S; West LA 17-11, 4-6 in WSC-S
