Moses Leads Ventura To The Promised Land
PF Moses Gonzalez scored 40 pts, making 15 of 18 shots from the floor including 10 of 10 in the second half, to lead #6 Ventura (24-4) to an 87-74 win over visiting #11 Mt. San Jacinto (18-11) in a first-round playoff game Friday night.
With Ctr Gary Nunez having fouled out and Mt. San Jacinto having taken a lead midway through the second half, Gonzalez came to the rescue. The UTEP-bound forward scored 15 of his points in the remaining 13 minutes of the game. And with a little help from SG David Van Someren, who had three big threes and 14 points overall, and cousin SF Danny Mena (10 pts, 9 rebs), Gonzalez pushed the Pirates into the second round to meet the winner of tomorrow's game between San Diego City and Los Angeles City.
Ventura held the advantage most of the first half, building a 31-17 lead after a FG+FT 3-point play by Gonzalez late in the first half. But Mt. San Jacinto finished the half on a 12-3 run, cutting the halftime margin to 5 at 34-29 after a basket by SF Michael Wilson just before the horn.
In the second half, Ventura continued to hold a narrow lead. But then things took a dramatic turn with 13:21 left and the Pirates clinging to a 44-41 advantage. First, Nunez was called for an over-the-back foul on a rebound, his fourth foul of the game. But then he was whistled for a technical foul moments later, which also counts as his 5th personal foul. SF Tremel Gilot made 2 FTs on the technical, and then PF A.J. McGregor made the first of 2 FTs on the loose ball foul, But on the miss, Gilot got the rebound and was fouled. He made both free throws to give Mt. San Jacinto a 47-44 lead with 13:19 left and Ventura's standout Center on the bench.
Then Moses and company came to the rescue. First, Gonzalez scored on a putback to cut the Eagles' lead to 1. Then Mena took a feed from Van Someren to put Ventura ahead, 48-47. After SG Taleek Norman made a pair of free throws to put Mt. San Jacinto back on top, Moses nailed a jumper to give Ventura a 50-49 lead. Then Van Someren drained a three to make it 53-49, and Ventura never trailed again. After a basket by McGregor brought Mt. San Jacinto to within 3 at 54-51, Van Someren made another three to give VC a 6-point lead at 57-51. Then PG Kenji Rocket made a three throw to push the lead to 7 at 58-51.
But Mt. San Jacinto wasn't done quite yet. A pull-up three by SF Tremel Gilot made it 58-54, and after SF Charles Dillon made a free throw to make it 59-56, Norman scored on a putback to make it 59-56.
But then Gonzalez again scored to push the lead back to 5, and Van Someren made yet another three to push the lead to 9 at 66-57. Mt. San Jacinto tried to rally one last time, cutting the margin to 5 after a basket by PG DeWayne Green and a putback by McGregor, but then Mena took a pass from Rocket, scored and was fouled. His good free throw made it 69-61. Though just over 5 minutes remained, Mt. San Jacinto never got closer than 6 points again.
And as the game clock wound down, and Ventura in control of the game, the only question that remained was how many points Gonzalez would score. He threw down a slam to make it 78-70, then made a pair of free throws to make it 82-74. Then, with just under a minute left, he was fouled again and made both free throws again. Finally, he was fouled once more with just a few seconds remaining. And once again, he made both free throws, giving him a total of 40 points on the night.
The win is Ventura's 18th victory in a row overall, and their 10th in a row at home. The victorious Pirates shot a sizzling 62% in the second half and 59% for the game.
Mt. San Jacinto had 4 scorers in double figures. Green led the way with 17, while Gilot added 15 and a team-high 6 rebs. Norman had 14 on 5/9 shooting and Wilson finished with 13 plus a team-high 4 asts.
But the Eagles had no answer for Moses.
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box score
Friday, February 25, 2005 - 7:30 pm
at the Ventura College Athletic Event Center
Playoffs - 1st Round
Mt. San Jacinto Eagles 74:
0-Ryan Allen, C - 3/6 fg, 3 reb, 2 ast, 6 pts
1-Taleek Norman, SG - 5/9 fg, 2/3 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 14 pts
2-A.J. McGregor, PF - 3/8 fg, 2/4 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 8 pts
4-Michael Wilson, SF - 5/9 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 4 ast, 13 pts
23-DeWayne Green, PG - 6/14 fg, 4/8 ft, 4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 17 pts
25-Tremel Gilot, F - 4/10 fg, 6/10 ft, 6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 15 pts
15-Michael Crawford, F - 1 ast, 0 pts
21-Scotty James, G - 0/1 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 stl, 1 pt
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 26/57 fg (.456), 17/29 ft (.586), 30 reb, 15 ast, 0 blk, 4 stl, 74 pts
3-pt fg (5): Norman 2, Wilson, Green, Gilot
Fouled Out: Allen 3:19 left, McGregor 1:14 left
Turnovers (19): Green 6, Gilot 4, Allen 3, Wilson 3, Norman, Crawford, James
Ventura Pirates 87:
21-Charles Dillon, SF - 3/10 fg, 3/3 ft, 8 ast, 1 stl, 9 pts
22-Moses Gonzalez, PF - 15/18 fg, 10/12 ft, 8 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 40 pts
34-Gary Nunez, C - 5/7 fg, 7 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl, 10 pts
41-David Van Someren, SG - 5/8 fg, 2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 14 pts
10-Kenji Rocket, G - 1/5 fg, 1/3 ft, 4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 3 pts
25-Danny Mena, F - 4/6 fg, 2/5 ft, 9 reb, 5 ast, 10 pts
11-Ali Hinds, F - 1/2 ft, 1 pt
55-Djadji Daffe, C - 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 33/56 fg (.589), 17/25 ft (.680), 34 reb, 28 ast, 3 blk, 9 stl, 87 pts
3-pt fg (4): Van Someren 4
Technical Foul: Nunez
Fouled Out: Nunez 13:21 left, Dillon 2:09 left
Turnovers (18): Mena 5, Van Someren 4, Dillon 2, Gonzalez 2, Davis 2, Nunez, Rocket, Daffe
Halftime Score: Ventura 34, Mt. San Jacinto 29
Updated Records: Ventura 24-4, Mt. San Jacinto 18-11
Ventura shot 62% in the second half; Gonzalez was 10-for-10 from the floor and scored 28 pts in the second half
