SF Anthony Scott's lay-up off a feed from Kierre Beverly with 2.5 seconds left lifted Cerritos to the upset win and over #16 El Camino in the regular season finale for both teams Saturday night at Biola University.
As time wound down below five seconds, and Cerritos (10-17, 2-11) trailing by a point, Beverly drove from the top of the key and found Scott waiting under the basket. After Scott's score gave Cerritos a 61-60 lead, Beverly then stole the inbounds pass around midcourt, ending El Camino's last real chance to pull out the victory.
Cerritos entered the game with a 1-11 conference record and had nothing on the line except pride. But El Camino (16-9, 7-6) badly needed the victory for a better playoff seed and now, with the loss, faces the prospect of heading out onto the road for its mini-round playoff game on Wednesday.
In this one, Cerritos started the game with a 7-2 spurt and jumped out to a 12-4 lead after a 3-pointer by SG Jeremy Chadwell. But El Camino rallied later in the first half, tying the score at 22 and taking a 27-26 lead on a 3-pointer by SF Jamar Cannon with 4:50 left in the half.
The lead went back and forth the rest of the half, but El Camino got a basket and two free throws from SG David Howard in the final minute to take a 36-31 lead at the break. And then Ctr Julian Camper started the second half with a spinning lay-up through the lane to give the Warriors a 7-point lead at 38-31.
Cerritos closed the gap to two points at 45-43 on a 3-pointer by PF Michael Crosby midway through the second half, but El Camino maintained a slim lead until Scott scored on a putback with 2:38 left to tie the score at 58.
PG Joshua Wilson put El Camino back on top with an 8-foot one-handed shot from the lane with two minutes to go. Cerritos got a free throw from SG Anthony Holliday with 1:41 left to make it 60-59, but neither team scored again until Scott's game-winning basket with 2.5 seconds left.
After a timeout, El Camino Ctr Julian Camper tried a long pass, but Beverly deflected it at midcourt and it ended up in the hands of PG Robert Gill. Wilson fouled him with 0.5 seconds left, and Gill went to the line, but in trying to miss the free throw he tossed an air ball, giving the Warriors one last chance. But Cannon's desperation shot from the backcourt was not close to the basket, and Cerritos had the upset win.
For Cerritos, Ctr Darius Williams had 11 pts, 7 rebs and 2 blocks, but was the only Falcon to score in double figures. Gill and Chadwell each had 9 pts while Scott and Beverly each had 8 and SG Reggie Thomas had 7.
For El Camino, Howard led all scorers with 15 pts, and Wilson had 13 pts, 8 rebs and 3 asts. Camper had 12 pts and 3 steals.
box score
Saturday, February 18, 2012 - 7:30 pm
at Biola University, La Mirada
El Camino Warriors 60:
11-Christen Clark, SF - 1/6 fg, 6 reb, 1 stl, 2 pts
12-David Howard, SG - 5/8 fg, 5/6 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 pf, 15 pts
13-Joshua Wilson, PG - 6/11 fg, 1/2 ft, 8 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 13 pts
23-Cameron Gray, PF - 2/11 fg, 3/4 ft, 6 reb, 1 pf, 8 pts
40-Julian Camper, C - 4/6 fg, 4/6 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 3 pf, 12 pts
5-Isaiah Hawkins, G - 0/1 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl, 1 pt
3-Derrick Twiggs, G - 0/1 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 0 pts
34-Jonathan Furlow, F - 1/1 fg, 2 pf, 2 pts
10-Jamar Cannon, F - 3/8 fg, 1 pf, 7 pts
50-Shawn Ray, C - 0/1 fg, 2 reb, 1 stl, 3 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 22/54 fg (.407), 14/20 ft (.700), 36 reb, 12 ast, 1 blk, 8 stl, 16 pf, 60 pts
3-pt fg (2): Gray, Cannon
Technical Foul: Ray
Turnovers (14): Camper 4, Wilson 3, Furlow 2, Clark, Howard, Gray, Twiggs, Cannon
Cerritos Falcons 61:
1-Robert Gill, PG - 4/7 fg, 0/3 ft, 3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 9 pts
2-Jeremy Chadwell, SG - 3/6 fg, 2 reb, 1 pf, 9 pts
4-Anthony Scott, SF - 3/8 fg, 2/4 ft, 7 reb, 2 ast, 1 pf, 8 pts
24-Dominique McGowan, PF - 0/1 fg, 2 reb, 0 pts
33-Darius Williams, C - 3/9 fg, 5/6 ft, 7 reb, 2 blk, 4 pf, 11 pts
11-Anthony Holliday, G - 0/7 fg, 1/2 ft, 4 ast, 2 pf, 1 pt
31-Dominique Kilgore, F - 1 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 0 pts
22-Kierre Beverly, F - 3/5 fg, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 8 pts
34-Isaac Okebiorun, C - 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 1 pf, 0 pts
3-Reggie Thomas, G - 2/3 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 stl, 7 pts
32-Manny Garcia, G - 0/2 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 2 pts
42-Michael Hamilton, C - 0/1 fg, 0 pts
20-Michael Crosby, F - 2/2 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 4 pf, 6 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 20/52 fg (.385), 12/19 ft (.632), 32 reb, 13 ast, 2 blk, 3 stl, 19 pf, 61 pts
3-pt fg (9): Chadwell 3, Beverly 2, Crosby 2, Gill, Thomas
Technical Foul: Williams
Turnovers (17): Williams 4, Gill 3, Beverly 3, Holliday 2, Garcia 2, Scott, McGowan, Crosby
Halftime Score: El Camino 36, Cerritos 31
Updated Records: Cerritos 10-17 overall, 2-11 in conference; El Camino (#16-South) 16-9 overall, 7-6 in conference
Scott's lay-up off a feed from Beverly with 2.5 seconds left won it for Cerritos
