LA Valley's backcourt of PG Alex Strauther and SG Marcus Johnson combined for 52 points and powered the #13-seed Monarchs to a 75-61 win over WSC-South rival Canyons Wednesday night in a mini-round playoff game in Van Nuys.
Valley (16-11) made 14 three-pointers in the game, and shot 54% with 8 threes in the second half to expand what was a 2-point lead at the break to as many as 17 points midway through the second half.
Meanwhile, #20-seed Canyons (15-13) had trouble putting the ball in the basket all night. The Cougars shot 27.5% for the game, 26% in the first half and 29% in the second half. Leading scorer SF Rafael Love typified the Cougars' struggles, making just 3 of 21 shots on the night.
Valley jumped out to an early 8-3 lead. Canyons answered with a 7-0 run, tying the game on a basket by PF Wesley Bartole, who had scored all 8 of the Cougars' points to that point, and taking a 10-8 lead on a putback basket by Ctr Ronald Harris.
The lead went back and forth the rest of the half, with Valley taking a 22-18 lead after an 8-0 run on a 3-pointer by Strauther that made it 22-18. Canyons went back in front on a 3-pointer by Love that made it 28-27, but SF Domanique Cotton answered with a 3-pointer for Valley that gave the Monarchs a 30-28 lead at halftime.
Once the second half began, however, Valley began to pull away. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Johnson made it 40-32, and a Strauther three made it 45-34 with 13:20 left. Cotton made consecutive threes to push the Monarch lead to 17 at 56-39 with 10:16 left.
Canyons rallied to within 9 points when Love made two free throws with 7:50 left to make it 56-47, and also trailed by 9 at 66-57 on a slam dunk by Harris after a steal by Bartole in the Monarch backcourt with 1:31 left.
But that would be as close as the Cougars would get. Johnson made 4 of 4 free throws and Strauther made 3 of 4 over the next minute to make it 73-57 and clinch the win for Valley.
Johnson led all scorers with 29 pts, including 7 threes, and all that came on a remarkable 9-for-11 shooting performance. He also had 3 rebs, 2 asts, 3 steals and just one turnover. Strauther had 23 pts, including 3 threes, and dished out 12 asts. Cotton had 12 pts on 4 threes and grabbed 8 rebs. Ctr Robert Looper had 6 pts plus 10 rebs and 4 blocked shots, and PF Eddie LaTorre came off the bench for 3 pts and a team-high 12 rebs.
For Canyons, Bartole finished with a team-high 14 pts and added 9 rebs and 3 steals. Harris had a double-double with 11 pts and a game-high 15 rebs, and also had 2 blocked shots. Despite the dismal shooting line Love still posted double-double with 11 pts, 12 rebs, 2 asts and 2 steals.
With the win, Valley advances to the regional quarterfinal Saturday at #4-seed San Bernardino Valley. Canyons, which made the playoffs for the first time since 2007, finishes 15-13.
box score
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - 7 pm
at LA Valley College, Valley Glen
Playoffs - Mini-Round
Canyons Cougars 61:
4-Rafael Love, SF - 3/21 fg, 4/4 ft, 12 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 11 pts
24-Wesley Bartole, PF - 5/14 fg, 3/6 ft, 9 reb, 3 stl, 1 pf, 14 pts
25-Ronald Harris, C - 5/11 fg, 1/2 ft, 15 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 11 pts
31-Brad Wyche, SG - 2/10 fg, 2 reb, 3 ast, 5 pf, 6 pts
34-Jawhar Purdy, PG - 3/12 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 7 pts
10-Roman Delgado, G - 2/2 fg, 2/2 ft, 4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 7 pts
42-Tyler Barber, F - 1/7 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 pts
44-John Green, C - 1/3 fg, 0/1 ft, 2 reb, 1 pf, 2 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 22/80 fg (.275), 11/17 ft (.647), 48 reb, 12 ast, 2 blk, 9 stl, 20 pf, 61 pts
3-pt fg (6): Wyche 2, Love, Bartole, Delgado, Barber
Fouled Out: Wyche 1:05 left
Turnovers (7): Wyche 2, Delgado 2, Love, Harris, Purdy
LA Valley Monarchs 75:
2-Alex Strauther, PG - 7/20 fg, 6/9 ft, 4 reb, 12 ast, 2 pf, 23 pts
3-Domanique Cotton, SF - 4/15 fg, 0/2 ft, 8 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 12 pts
12-Marcus Johnson, SG - 9/11 fg, 4/5 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 1 pf, 29 pts
30-Javion Garner, PF - 1/2 fg, 4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 2 pts
32-Robert Looper, C - 3/6 fg, 0/2 ft, 10 reb, 2 ast, 4 blk, 4 pf, 6 pts
20-Eddie LaTorre, F - 1/3 fg, 1/2 ft, 12 reb, 2 blk, 3 pf, 3 pts
15-Margarito Pelayo, G - 0/1 fg, 2 reb, 0 pts
24-Daryl Singontiko, F - 0/1 fg, 3 reb, 0 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 25/59 fg (.424), 11/20 ft (.550), 51 reb, 19 ast, 6 blk, 4 stl, 16 pf, 75 pts
3-pt fg (14): Johnson 7, Cotton 4, Strauther 3
Turnovers (13): Strauther 5, Cotton 3, LaTorre 2, Johnson, Garner, Looper
Halftime Score: LA Valley 30, Canyons 28
Updated Records: LA Valley (#13-seed) 16-11, Canyons (#20-seed) 15-13
LA Valley shot 54% with 8 threes in the 2nd half.
