PF Othyus Jeffers scored 25 pts and LA Southwest (22-7) survived a second-halfcomeback by Canyons (19-7) and a career night by PF Durell Davis to register a 97-84 win in Valencia and advance to the second round of the COA playoffs.
Jeffers was one of 5 Southwest players to score in double figures, and added 12 rebs and 5 asts. He scored 14 of those points in the second half, including 12 in the final 8 minutes as Southwest held onto what had become a slim 3-point lead. After leading by 20 at intermission at 55-35, LASW watched Canyons rally to trail by just 3 at 70-67 with 8:15 to play. But a three and a jumper by SG Chris Lawson and a fast-break bucket by SF Jason Perry re-established the double-digit lead.
But even in defeat, Canyons' PF Durell Davis had an incredible night. In his first start of the season, the former deluxe sixth man became a force all night for COC. He finished with 37 pts, including a pair of 3-pointers, and 15 rebs, both game-highs. Early on, he almost single-handedly kept COC in the game with 10 pts and 7 rebs in the first 11-1/2 minutes. COC trailed at that point, 23-18.
Southwest started the game in fine form, as PG Michael Ford stole the ball from D. Davis in the opening seconds and went in for the layup to put LASW ahead 10 seconds into the game. Ctr William White stole the ball from Cedric Davis moments later, getting the ball to Jeffers, who passed to Lawson for the dunk to make it 4-0. Then after a missed shot by COC's PG Carlton Spencer, Ford threw a long pass to White for a dunk to make it 6-0. All this took place in the game's first minute.
COC settled down after that, but never quite overcame that early lead. A dunk by Perry extended LASW's lead to 11 at 17-6, but a three by D. Davis helped close the gap to 17-11. And a pair of baskets by D. Davis helped COC get back to within 5 at 23-18. LASW pulled away again, going ahead by 12 on a three by Ford and a dunk by backup SG Ivan Jackson, but again COC rallied to keep things close. Putback baskets by Ctr Andrew Bruckner and SF Andrew Morris, and 2 FTs by Spencer, made it 37-31 late in the first half.
LASW finished the half on a run, however, to take a 20-point lead at the break. A steal and bucket, followed by a FG+FT 3-point play, all by Jeffers, pushed the lead to 47-35. A steal by PG Darius Davis led to a basket by Jackson to make it 49-35. And 3-point baskets by Lawson and Jackson pushed LASW's lead to 55-35. It was a marvelous display of basketball by LASW in the first half, as the visiting team shot 54% from the floor and committed just 3 turnovers before the break.
But as the second half started, things turned around quickly. LASW equaled their first-half total with 3 turnovers in the first 1:32. And a pair of baskets by D. Davis started the momentum for COC, and cut the lead to 55-39. A jumper by Spencer, a putback basket by Bruckner and a three by Spencer reduced the lead to single digits at 55-46.
LASW still led by 9 after a three by PG Curtis Dunwoody midway through the second half, but that began another COC run that almost brought the home squad even. A layup by D. Davis on a pass from SG Alex Dunwoody, followed by a bucket by A. Dunwoody on a pass from D. Davis, made it 66-61. And after a free throw by Lawson for LASW, Bruckner made 2 FTs to bring COC to within 4 at 67-63. LASW pushed the lead back to 7 on a FT by Jeffers and a steal and bucket by Ford, but a putback by D. Davis made it 70-65. And then D. Davis took a nice pass from Bruckner to make it 70-67 with 8:15 to play, marking COC's smallest deficit since the game's opening 30 seconds.
But that was as far as the rally would go. A three by Lawson, a jumper by Lawson and a dunk by Perry following a steal by Davis would re-establish LASW's 10-point lead. Three baskets and 3 FTs by Jeffers kept LASW's momentum going, and Perry added a basket on a feed from Ford to close the run and make it 88-70. Though COC hit some threes in the final minute to briefly draw to within 9, Southwest was never really in danger again.
In addition to Jeffers, double-digit scorers for LASW included Perry (17 pts), Ford (16 pts), Lawson (16 pts) and Jackson (12 pts, all in the first half). LASW shot 51% from the floor on the night and registered 16 steals. Ford had 4 steals in addition to a game-high 7 asts, but shot just 5 of 18 on the night and made just 4 of 8 FTs.
Canyons, which finished 19-7 on the season, was of course led by D. Davis' 37 pts and 15 rebs. Spencer had a strong game as well, finishing with 19 pts (4 threes) and 5 asts. Bruckner had a double-double with 14 pts and 14 rebs.
LA Southwest now awaits the winner of the LA City vs. Mira Costa game to determine their next opponent.
In the women's game, host and #6-ranked Canyons (23-5) topped Moorpark (19-10), 91-61. PG Erica Doyle came off the bench to score 26 pts, while Ctr Jessi Loring had 25 pts and 10 rebs for the winners.
Moorpark scored the game's first basket on a layup by SG Lea Sabado on a nice feed from PG Lindsay Goldblatt. But COC scored the game's next 6 points, all by Loring, to take a 6-2 lead. COC extended its lead to 14-4 on 3 more points by Loring, a 3-pointer by SF Linnae Barber and a jumper by PG Kaipresha Price.
Moorpark rallied to within 7 at 24-17 on a basket by PF Lauren Burnett, a three by L. Goldblatt and a basket by Ctr Courtney Pena. But a jumper by Loring and a pair of threes by Barber pushed the lead back to 15 at 32-17. By halftime, the margin had grown to 20 at 48-28 and Moorpark never threatened in the second half.
Doyle had a marvelous game with the 26 pts, plus 5 asts and 6 steals. Loring had 25 pts, 10 rebs, 6 asts and 3 blocks. Barber finished with 13 pts including 3 threes, and 8 rebs. PF Tihynna DeBose added 8 pts and 8 rebs, while SG Krystal Clay had 11 pts and 6 steals. Price had just 4 pts but dished out a team-best 8 asts.
For Moorpark, Pena led the way with 11 pts. L. Goldblatt had 9 pts, 6 rebs and a game-high 9 rebs. Catie Goldblatt had 9 pts including a pair of threes. Ctr Destiny Sobel came off the bench to score 8 pts and grab a team-best 8 rebs.
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Friday, February 27, 2004 – 5:30 pm
at the Cougar Cage (COC), Valencia
Southern California Playoffs – 1st round
LA Southwest Cougars 97:
5-Michael Ford, PG – 5/18 fg, 4/8 ft, 4 reb, 7 ast, 4 stl, 16 pts
12-Othyus Jeffers, PF – 9/16 fg, 7/9 ft, 12 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 25 pts
30-Jason Perry, SF – 7/13 fg, 3/6 ft, 6 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 3 stl, 17 pts
32-William White, C – 3/5 fg, 0/2 ft, 6 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl, 6 pts
33-Chris Lawson, SG – 6/9 fg, 1/2 ft, 4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 16 pts
22-Darius Davis, G – 2/2 fg, 2 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 5 pts
23-Ivan Jackson, G – 4/7 fg, 2/2 ft, 4 ast, 1 stl, 12 pts
42-Ervine McKinley, F – 0/1 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 36/71 fg (.507), 17/29 ft (.586), 41 reb, 25 ast, 5 blk, 16 stl, 97 pts
3-pt fg (8): Lawson 3, Ford 2, Jackson 2, Davis
Turnovers (15): Ford 4, Jeffers 2, Perry 2, Davis 2, White, Lawson, Jackson, McKinley, team
College of the Canyons Cougars 84:
20-Alex Dunwoody, SG – 2/10 fg, 4 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 4 pts
23-Carlton Spencer, PG – 6/12 fg, 3/5 ft, 1 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 19 pts
30-Andrew Bruckner, C – 5/9 fg, 4/8 ft, 14 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl, 14 pts
32-Cedric Davis, SF – 0/3 fg, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 0 pts
33-Durell Davis, PF – 17/28 fg, 1/2 ft, 15 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 37 pts
42-Andrew Morris, F – 2/4 fg, 0/1 ft, 4 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 4 pts
22-Curtis Dunwoody, G – 2/11 fg, 1 reb, 4 ast, 6 pts
21-Kevin Valle, F – 0 pts
11-Navid Khajavi, G – 0 pts
44-Pat Allen, C – 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 0 pts
54-Nate Sheffield, C – 1 reb, 0 pts
team rebounds: 8
Totals: 34/78 fg (.436), 8/16 ft (.500), 51 reb, 23 ast, 7 blk, 3 stl, 84 pts
3-pt fg (8): Spencer 4, D. Davis 2, C.Dunwoody 2
Turnovers (23): Spencer 5, Bruckner 5, D. Davis 4, C.Dunwoody 4, C.Davis 2, A.Dunwoody, Khajavi, team
Halftime Score: LASW 55, COC 35
Updated Records: LASW 22-7, COC 19-7
LASW jumped to 6-0 lead in 1st minute and led wire to wire. COC rallied to within 3 at 70-67 by then an 18-3 run put it away for LASW.
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Friday, February 27, 2004 – 7:45 pm
at The Cougar Cage (COC), Valencia
Southern California Playoffs – 1st round – women
Moorpark Raiders 61:
10-Lea Sabado, SG – 4/9 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 9 pts
14-Lindsay Goldblatt, PG – 1/11 fg, 6/6 ft, 6 reb, 9 ast, 2 stl, 9 pts
32-Sarah Ruiz, SF – 0/7 fg, 1 reb, 0 pts
24-Natasha Belou, PF – 0/5 fg, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 0 pts
31-Taryn Milburn, C – 1/1 fg, 2 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pts
42-Courtney Pena, F – 2/6 fg, 7/12 ft, 4 reb, 1 stl, 11 pts
12-Ashley Haffner, F – 2/4 fg, 2 reb, 4 pts
11-Catie Goldblatt, G – 3/10 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 9 pts
21-Destiny Sobel, C – 2/3 fg, 4/4 ft, 8 reb, 2 blk, 8 pts
33-Lauren Burnett, F – 3/5 fg, 3/4 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 9 pts
15-Marissa Espinoza, G – 1 reb, 0 pts
44-Katy Polcyn, F – 1 reb, 0 pts
team rebounds: 11
Totals: 18/61 fg (.295), 22/30 ft (.733), 47 reb, 13 ast, 4 blk, 11 stl, 61 pts
Turnovers (33): L.Goldblatt 10, Milburn 5, C.Goldblatt 5, Burnett 3, Sabado 2, Ruiz 2, Belou 2, Pena, Haffner, Sobel, Espinoza
College of the Canyons Cougars 91:
33-Tihynna DeBose, PF – 3/5 fg, 2/2 ft, 8 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 8 pts
5-Linnae Barber, SF – 4/11 fg, 2/6 ft, 8 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 13 pts
43-Jessi Loring, C – 12/18 fg, 1/3 ft, 10 reb, 6 ast, 3 blk, 1 stl, 25 pts
23-Kaipresha Price, PG – 2/11 fg, 5 reb, 8 ast, 1 stl, 4 pts
22-Krystal Clay, SG – 4/9 fg, 2/3 ft, 1 reb, 2 ast, 6 stl, 11 pts
4-Erica Doyle, G – 9/15 fg, 6/7 ft, 3 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 6 stl, 26 pts
15-Arpa Gregorian, F – 1/6 fg, 3 reb, 1 stl, 2 pts
24-Allison Weier, F – 1/4 fg, 0/2 ft, 1 reb, 2 ast, 2 pts
32-Christine Raphaelian, F – 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 36/79 fg (.456), 13/23 ft (.565), 43 reb, 28 ast, 5 blk, 18 stl, 91 pts
3-pt fg (6): Barber 3, Doyle 2, Clay
Intentional Foul: Gregorian
Fouled Out: Clay 3:55 left, Price 1:13 left
Turnovers (22): Price 6, Clay 3, Doyle 3, Gregorian 3, DeBose 2, Barber 2, Loring 2, Weier
Halftime Score: COC 48, Moorpark 28
Updated Records: COC 23-5, Moorpark 19-10
