After seemingly allowing a victory slip away at the end of regulation time, #8-seed LA Pierce rallied from a 6-point deficit midway through overtime to get past #9-seed Bakersfield 95-92 in a mini-round playoff game Wednesday in Woodland Hills.
Pierce (18-12) held a 74-67 lead with 1:23 left in regulation time, but missed 6 free throws in the final 1:02, and Bakersfield (18-11) rallied to tie the score at 77 with 4.1 seconds left on an alley-oop play from Jameik Riviere to Deandre Dickson, sending the game to overtime.
And in overtime, Bakersield took an 85-79 lead after two free throws by Riviere with 2:55 left. But Pierce rallied to take a 90-89 lead on a 3-point play by Lorenzo Goines with 59.4 seconds left and led the rest of the way, with Goines making 4 free throws in the final 15.4 seconds left to nail down the win.
Pierce started out hot, making its first 6 shots from the floor and leading by as many as 9 points at 26-17 midway through the first half. After a pull-up 3-pointer by Goines to beat the shot clock made it 33-25, the Brahmas were a sizzling 14-for-19 (74%) from the field.
But the Bakersfield went on a 10-0 run, taking a 35-33 lead on a driving lay-up by Austin Welch with 3:07 left in the half. The lead went back and forth several times the rest of the half., with the Renegades holding a slim 39-38 lead at the break.
With Pierce Center Trey Archambeau on the bench with 3 fouls to start the second half, Dickson scored from in close to give Bakersfield a 41-38. But Pierce took a 42-41 lead on two free throws by Devron Reynolds. Pierce's lead reached six points after Reynolds scored on a runner with about 16 minutes left in regulation to make it 49-43. A 3-pointer by J.R. Williams pushed the Brahmas' advantage to eight points at 59-51 with just under 11 minutes left in the second half.
Then Bakersfield rallied again, with Riviere tying the score at 60 with a 3-pointer with just over 8 minutes left in the half. The lead changed hands a couple of times and was tied at 65 when Pierce took a lead on a free throw by Quincy Moore with 4:21 to go. Baskets by Kaelen Hicks and Archambeau made it 70-65 with 2:50 left. A 3-point play by Hicks off a pass from Williams gave Pierce what seemed to be an insurmountable lead of seven points at 74-67 with 1:23 left in regulation time.
But Bakersfield rallied again, helped by the six missed free throws. Riviere scored on a driving lay-up with 1:11 left and David Wooley scored off a pass from Dickson with 48.9 seconds left to make it 74-71. After Reynolds split a pair of free throws, a basket by Riviere off an inbounds play brought Bakersfield within two at 75-73. After Williams split a pair of free throws, Riviere scored on a putback of his own miss with 13.7 seconds left to make it 76-75. Then Moore split two free throws for Pierce with 10.8 seconds left, and Dickson tied it on the alley-oop with 4.1 seconds to go to send the game to overtime.
Isaiah Bryant scored one basket and passed to Dickson for another to give Bakersfield an 81-77 lead early in overtime. Two free throws by Riviere with 2:55 left in OT gave the Renegades an 85-79 lead, the largest lead of the game for Bakersfield.
But Pierce came roaring back. A 3-point play by Moore - off a pass from Williams for his 10th assist of the night - brought the Brahmas within three with 2:31 left. Then a steal & lay-up by Goines made it 85-84. Wooley scored for Bakersfield to push the lead back to three, but Archambeau scored for Pierce to make it a one-point game with 1:22 left.
Then Archambeau blocked a shot by Dickson, which started a fast break for Pierce. Goines scored off a pass from Williams, was fouled and made the free throw to give Pierce its first lead of overtime at 89-87 with 59.4 seconds left. Goines split a pair of free throws, Riviere made two free throws for Bakerfield and Goines split another pair of free throws to give Pierce a 91-89 lead.
Dickson drew a foul for Bakersfield with 19.1 seconds left and had a chance to tie the score, but he made just one of the two resulting free throws. Then Goines made two free throws for Pierce with 15.4 seconds left. Riviere scored on a driving lay-up to make it 93-92 with 9.0 seconds left, but Goines made two more free throws with 4.9 seconds to go to make it 95-92. Bakersfield brought the ball upcourt but Williams knocked the ball away from Riviere and out of bounds with 0.4 seconds left. On the final play the ball went to Dickson, whose hurried 3-point try was well off the mark.
For Pierce, Reynolds scored 20 pts and added 6 rebs and 3 asts. Goines had 18 pts, including 11 in overtime, plus 3 rebs, 3 asts and 2 steals. Archambeau had 17 pts, 7 rebs and 2 blocks. Williams had 16 pts and a game-high 11 asts, and Moore chipped in with 12 pts.
For Bakersfield, Riviere poured in 34 pts, including 21 in the final 9 minutes of regulation and the 5 minutes of overtime. He also had 8 rebs and 8 asts. Dickson had a double-double with 27 pts and 10 rebs, and he also had 6 asts. Wooley came off the bench for a double-double with 10 pts and a game-high 12 rebs.
All in all it was an extremely well-played game, with both teams shooting over 50% from the floor and the teams combining for just 20 turnovers in 45 minutes. The only thing missing was Mike the P.A. guy and master of sound effects, who had a prior commitment and was unable to provide the usual Pierce atmosphere.
box score
Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - 7 pm
at Pierce College, Woodland Hills
Playoffs - Mini-Round
Bakersfield Renegades 92:
1-Jameik Riviere, PG - 12/23 fg, 9/10 ft, 8 reb, 8 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 34 pts
11-Demontrey Mitchell, SG - 1/3 fg, 1 ast, 2 pf, 2 pts
22-Isaiah Rogers, SF - 2/5 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 5 pf, 6 pts
23-Deandre Dickson, C - 11/22 fg, 5/7 ft, 10 reb, 6 ast, 1 blk, 4 pf, 27 pts
40-C.J. Johnson, PF - 3/4 fg, 2 reb, 1 blk, 2 pf, 6 pts
33-Isaiah Bryant, G - 2/4 fg, 1 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 4 pf, 5 pts
34-David Wooley, F - 5/7 fg, 12 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 5 pf, 10 pts
42-Austin Welch, G - 1/1 fg, 2 pf, 2 pts
25-Alex Daniels, F - 0/2 fg, 2 reb, 1 stl, 2 pf, 0 pts
30-Sky Seay, C - 2 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 37/71 fg (.521), 16/19 ft (.842), 40 reb, 20 ast, 4 blk, 3 stl, 31 pf, 92 pts
3-pt fg (2): Riviere, Bryant
Fouled Out: Rogers 46.3 secs left in regulation, Wooley 4.9 secs left in OT
Turnovers (11): Riviere 3, Dickson 3, Rogers 2, Johnson, Wooley, Welch
LA Pierce Brahmas 95:
1-J.R. Williams, PG - 6/12 fg, 3/6 ft, 2 reb, 11 ast, 1 blk, 4 pf, 16 pts
3-Devron Reynolds, SF - 7/14 fg, 5/7 ft, 6 reb, 1 blk, 3 stl, 5 pf, 20 pts
20-Tatsu Suenaga, SG - 1/1 fg, 3 pts
25-Quincy Moore, PF - 3/7 fg, 6/10 ft, 4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 12 pts
32-Trey Archambeau, C - 7/12 fg, 3/7 ft, 7 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl, 3 pf, 17 pts
4-Lorenzo Goines, G - 5/12 fg, 7/9 ft, 3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 18 pts
22-Antone Datcher, F - 2/3 fg, 4 reb, 1 pf, 4 pts
10-Kaelen Hicks, G - 2/4 fg, 1/3 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 pf, 5 pts
24-Issak Traore, C - 1 reb, 1 blk, 0 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 33/65 fg (.508), 25/42 ft (.595), 36 reb, 18 ast, 5 blk, 8 stl, 20 pf, 95 pts
3-pt fg (4): Williams, Rogers, Suenaga, Goines
Fouled Out: Reynolds 19.0 secs left in OT
Turnovers (9): Archambeau 4, Goines 2, Datcher 2, Reynolds
Halftime Score: Bakersfield 39, LA Pierce 38
End of Regulation: Tied at 77
Updated Records: LA Pierce (#8-seed) 18-12, Bakersfield (#9-seed) 18-11
Pierce made its 1st 6 FG attempts and led by as many as 9 points at 26-17.
Bakersfield went on a 10-0 run to take the lead, which changed hands several times.
Pierce led 74-67 with 1:23 left in regulation but missed 6 FTs in the last 1:02
Bakersfield tied in on an alley-oop lay-up by Dickson off a pass from Riviere with 4.1 secs left in regulation.
Bakersfield led 85-79 with 2:55 left in OT.
Pierce took a lead on a 3-pt play by Goines with 59.4 left and led the rest of the way.
Goines scored 11 pts in OT and made 4 FTs in the final 15.4 seconds to help clinch the win for Pierce.
