Jason Johnson had 20 pts and 7 asts, and PG Da'Shawn Gomez scored 7 of his 17 pts in the final 1:01 as #12 Antelope Valley edged host #2 Mt. San Jacinto in a Foothill League showdown Saturday afternoon.
Antelope Valley (21-7, 9-5), one of the most unpredictable teams in the state all season, put together an outstanding effort in the second half to overcome a 5-point halftime deficit as well as the long travel and the cacophony of MSJC's signature cheering section, Code Red.
The Marauders took a 63-57 lead after an 11-2 run midway through the second half, and held on the rest of the way for the win. But Mt. San Jacinto (23-5, 12-2) stayed close and trailed by just two points as AVC had the ball with the shot clock winding down with just over a minute to play.
That's when the Iona-bound Gomez drained a clutch 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:01, just ahead of the shot clock buzzer, to make it 76-71. But even then, Mt. San Jacinto SG Taylor Bell scored on a reverse lay-up to make it 76-73 with 50 seconds left. Then he intercepted a pass near the sideline with 35.1 seconds left, momentarily giving Mt. San Jacinto the chance to tie the game.
Unfortunately for Mt. San Jacinto, Bell was took close to the sideline, and that opportunity was far too brief as an instant later Bell stepped on the line, giving AVC the ball back. And on the inbounds play, SF Chris Bridges found a cutting Johnson and fed him the ball for a lay-up that made it 78-73 and put Antelope Valley in control of the game. Gomez made two pairs of free throws in the final 7.5 seconds to clinch the win and round out the scoring.
All of that was the culmination of an outstanding game between two very talented teams. Antelope Valley ended up third in the tough Foothill Conference behind leader Mt. San Jacinto and second-place San Bernardino Valley, but the Marauders gave the Eagles two of their five losses this season, the other win coming in the finals of the AVC tournament in December.
In this one, Antelope Valley went on an 8-0 run to wipe out an early 5-2 Eagle lead, and stretched the margin to ten points at 24-14 on a 3-pointer by SF Michaelynn Scott midway through the first half. That would turn out to be the largest lead for either team all afternoon, however, as Mt. San Jacinto answered with a barrage of 3-pointers - two by SF Anthony Dees and one each by PF Jamar Cannon and Bell, to erase most of that deficit and cut the margin to two points at 28-26.
And Mt. San Jacinto took a lead on a driving lay-up by PG Alex Wilson with 2:38 left in the first half that made it 32-31. Then PF Josh Gouch made two free throws with 2:16 left to make it 34-31, and scored moments later to push the lead to five at 36-31. Mt. San Jacinto led by five at halftime, 38-33, much to the delight of the raucous Code Red section located right behind the AVC bench.
Mt. San Jacinto got a free throw from Gouch 19 seconds into the second half to make it 39-33, but that would be the Eagles' largest lead of the game. AVC scored the game's next six points to tie it at 39, and took a 45-43 lead on a jumper by Bridges with 15:20 left. Mt. San Jacinto went back in front, 55-52, on a 3-pointer from the right corner by Cannon, but that would MSJC's last lead of the game.
The came the 11-2 run, with AVC taking a 63-57 lead on a 3-pointer by Johnson and a hook shot by PF Vadal Faniel. A 3-point play by Johnson made it 71-65 with 3:34 left. Mt. San Jacinto got a 3-pointer from Bell and a free throw by Gouch to make it 71-69, and the Eagles still trailed by just two before Gomez' key 3-pointer with 1:01 left.
Johnson led AVC with 20 pts and 7 asts, scoring 14 of his points and dishing out 5 of his assists during a splended second half. He also had a game-high 5 steals. Gomez had 17 pts and 5 asts. And the bench was key for AVC as well with Faniel scoring 12 pts and Ctr Dwan Caldwell adding 8 pts and a team-high 9 rebs. Scott also had a strong game with 6 pts, 7 rebs and 6 asts.
For Mt. San Jacinto, Gouch had 20 pts and also added 10 rebs and 3 asts. He was one of three Eagles to post double-doubles as Dees had 13 pts and a game-high 12 rebs and Ctr Montreal Harris had 12 pts and 10 rebs. Bell had 14 pts including 3 threes. But Mt. Jacinto shot just 32.5% from the floor, compared to 48.5% for AVC, and not even a commanding 56-38 rebounding advantage - or the incessant sonic force provided by Code Red - could make up the difference for Mt. San Jacinto.
box score
Saturday, February 18, 2012 - 3 pm
at Mt. San Jacinto College, San Jacinto
Foothill Conference
Antelope Valley Marauders 82:
10-Da'Shawn Gomez, PG - 5/11 fg, 5/6 ft, 1 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 17 pts
11-Jason Johnson, SF - 8/17 fg, 3/5 ft, 2 reb, 7 ast, 5 stl, 2 pf, 20 pts
20-Chris Bridges, SG - 2/7 fg, 3 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 4 pf, 4 pts
21-Sean Boston, PF - 2/5 fg, 2 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 4 pf, 5 pts
34-Reggie Murphy, C - 2/3 fg, 5 reb, 2 pf, 4 pts
3-Joshua Blaylock, G - 2/3 fg, 2 reb, 1 pf, 6 pts
12-Michaelynn Scott, F - 2/4 fg, 0/2 ft, 7 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 6 pts
42-Dwan Caldwell, C - 4/8 fg, 9 reb, 1 ast, 3 pf, 8 pts
22-Vadal Faniel, F - 5/7 fg, 2/2 ft, 4 reb, 3 pf, 12 pts
24-Larry Slaughter, F - 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 0 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 32/66 fg (.485), 10/15 ft (.667), 38 reb, 24 ast, 2 blk, 9 stl, 21 pf, 82 pts
3-pt fg (8): Gomez 2, Blaylock 2, Scott 2, Johnson, Boston
Turnovers (13): Murphy 3, Johnson 2, Boston 2, Gomez, Bridges, Blaylock, Scott, Caldwell, Faniel
Mt. San Jacinto Eagles 75:
0-Josh Gouch, PF - 6/12 fg, 8/15 ft, 10 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 20 pts
1-Anthony Dees, SF - 4/16 fg, 2/2 ft, 12 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 13 pts
2-Montreal Harris, C - 6/16 fg, 10 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 5 pf, 12 pts
5-Alex Wilson, PG - 1/5 fg, 3 reb, 7 ast, 4 pf, 2 pts
13-Taylor Bell, SG - 5/10 fg, 1/2 ft, 6 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl, 1 pf, 14 pts
4-D'Anthony Peterson, G - 0/4 fg, 4/4 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 pf, 4 pts
30-Marc Ringnell, C - 1/1 fg, 1 reb, 2 pts
32-Jamar Cannon, F - 2/12 fg, 2/2 ft, 8 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 8 pts
22-Danny Hopkins, F - 0/1 fg, 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 25/77 fg (.325), 17/25 ft (.680), 56 reb, 17 ast, 1 blk, 5 stl, 16 pf, 75 pts
3-pt fg (8): Dees 3, Bell 3, Cannon 2
Turnovers (16): Bell 6, Gouch 4, Harris 3, Dees 2, Peterson
Halftime Score: Mt. San Jacinto 38, Antelope Valley 33
Updated Records: Antelope Valley (#12-South) 21-7 overall, 9-5 in conf; Mt. San Jacinto (#2-South, #5-Calif) 23-5 overall, 12-2 in conf
AVC led by 10 at 24-14. MSJC led by 6 at 39-33. AVC took a 63-57 lead after an 11-2 run and led the rest of the way. AVC was clinging to a 73-71 lead when Gomez hit a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock with 1:01 left. Gomez also made 4 FTs in the last 7.5 seconds to seal the win for AVC.
