PG Daniel Thompson scored 18 pts and PF Stephaun Branch scored 17 and grabbed 18 rebs to lead visiting Mt. San Antonio to a 74-51 rout of #15 Pasadena Friday night in SCC-North play.
Mt. San Antonio (14-9, 6-5) won for the 6th time in 7 games after starting conference play 0-4. And though each of Mt. SAC's last three games required overtime, the suspense ended early in this one.
Mt. SAC jumped out to an early 6-1 lead. But Pasadena (18-9, 6-5) responded with a 7-0 spurt, taking an 8-6 lead on a short jumper by SF Jevon Shields just under five minutes into the game.
After that, however, the night belonged to Mt. San Antonio. The Mounties answered that 7-0 spurt by doubling it with a 14-0 run that would give Mt. SAC a 20-8 advantage, and the Mounties led by at least 9 points the rest of the night.
Thompson gave Mt. SAC a 10-8 lead with a driving lay-up. A putback basket by Branch and a short jumper by Ctr Steven Watkins made it 14-8. A baseline jumper by SF Alfred Brown made it 16-8. SG John Haywood scored on a lay-up after a steal and on a putback to close out the run and make it 20-8 with just over 9 minutes left in the first half.
The Mounties' lead fluctuated between 9 and 13 points for over 20 minutes of playing time after that. The lead was 38-25 at the half, despite tremendous effort by Pasadena PF Taj Spencer, who scored 17 of his team's 25 points in the first half. But the rest of the Lancers made just 2 of 14 shot attempts in the first 20 minutes.
And it just got worse in the second half for Pasadena. After staying within 13 points for the first 8+ minutes of the second half, but not making up any ground, the Lancers lost touch with the Mounties midway through the second half. Even Spencer, who continued his strong play the rest of the game, couldn't keep Pasadena close.
Thompson pushed the Mt. SAC lead to 15 points for the first time on a driving lay-up that made it 55-40 with 11:30 left. Branch made two free throws after one of his many rebounds to make it 57-40 with 10:12 left, and added two more free throws 23 seconds later to make it 59-40. Two free throws by Haywood with exactly 9 minutes left make it 61-40, and the rout was officially on.
Thompson led Mt. SAC with his 18 pts. But the real story for the Mounties was Branch, who grabbed more than twice as many rebounds as any other player in the game and more than three times as many as any of his teammates. Haywood, who attended nearby Pasadena HS, had a solid game with 11 pts, 4 rebs, 3 asts and a steal.
For Pasadena, Spencer , who played at Mt. SAC in 2011-12, was outstanding, continuing what has been a stellar season. He finished with a game-high 28 pts plus 7 rebs, 4 asts and 3 blocked shots. Ctr Faruk Oyalade had a solid game with 7 pts, 6 rebs and 2 blocked shots. But the remainder of the Lancers combined for just 16 points on 5-for-28 from the floor and 1-for-9 from the free throw line.
box score
Friday, February 14, 2014 - 7 pm
at Hutto-Patterson Gynmasium, Pasadena
SCC-North
Mt. San Antonio Mounties 74:
4-Daniel Thompson, PG - 7/14 fg, 3/5 ft, 2 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 18 pts
12-Michael Walker, SF - 3/6 fg, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 6 pts
23-John Haywood, SG - 4/7 fg, 3/4 ft, 4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 11 pts
25-Steven Watkins, C - 2/4 fg, 3 reb, 5 pf, 4 pts
32-Stephaun Branch, PF - 4/10 fg, 9/10 ft, 18 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 4 pf, 17 pts
11-Shadrach Earby, G - 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 pf, 0 pts
20-Alfred Brown, F - 2/4 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 7 pts
24-Samuel Holmes, G - 0/3 fg, 0/2 ft, 5 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 0 pts
50-Thomas Cowan, C - 1/2 fg, 3/4 ft, 5 reb, 3 blk, 4 pf, 5 pts
42-Adriel McGee, F - 0/1 fg, 1 stl, 1 pf, 0 pts
33-Brandon Touhey, C - 2/3 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 pf, 6 pts
22-Marco Ponce, G - 1 stl, 0 pts
34-Joseph Williams, F - 0 pts
team rebounds: 7
Totals: 25/54 fg (.463), 22/29 ft (.759), 47 reb, 12 ast, 4 blk, 9 stl, 25 pf, 74 pts
3-pt fg (2): Thompson, Brown
Fouled Out: Watkins 4:31 left
Turnovers (17): Thompson 3, Brown 3, Walker 2, Haywood, Earby, Holmes, Cowan, McGee, Ponce, team 3
Pasadena Lancers 51:
12-Jeffrey Dockett, PG - 2/8 fg, 2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 4 pts
14-Brandon Joseph, SG - 0/2 fg, 5 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 0 pts
22-Adrian Miles, SF - 2/8 fg, 3 reb, 1 stl, 1 pf, 5 pts
24-Taj Spencer, PF - 9/18 fg, 10/19 ft, 7 reb, 4 ast, 3 blk, 3 pf, 28 pts
32-Faruk Oyalade, C - 1/4 fg, 5/6 ft, 6 reb, 2 blk, 3 pf, 7 pts
40-Jevon Shields, F - 2/7 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 4 pf, 4 pts
21-Rashad Smith, F - 1/1 fg, 0/3 ft, 2 reb, 1 blk, 3 pf, 2 pts
42-Marsalis Ellison, G - 0/2 fg, 0/4 ft, 4 ast, 2 stl, 0 pts
00-Bryce Clifton, F - 1/2 ft, 1 pf, 1 pt
13-Kenta Iima, G - 0 pts
20-Kalen Verhoeven, G - 0 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 17/50 fg (.340), 16/34 ft (.471), 28 reb, 13 ast, 7 blk, 5 stl, 21 pf, 51 pts
3-pt fg (1): Miles
Turnovers (13): Spencer 4, Dockett 3, Miles 2, Joseph, Oyalade, Shields, Ellison
Halftime Score: Mt. San Antonio 38, Pasadena 25
Updated Records: Mt. San Antonio 14-9, 6-5 in SCC; Pasadena (t-#15-South) 18-9, 6-5 in SCC
Mt. SAC went on a 14-0 run to lead 20-8 midway through the 1st half, and led by 9+ the rest of the way.
