SG Raymond Cody had 22 pts, including 6 threes, as #10 Antelope Valley (25-10) blitzed #7 LA Southwest (23-9), 94-78, in the first round of the playoffs Friday night at LA Southwest.
AVC played a near-flawless first half, shooting 62% from the floor with 5 threes and just 6 turnovers and holding Southwest to 35% with 12 turnovers. By halftime the lead was 27, and AVC eventually pushed the margin to 35 at 70-35 midway through the second half.
After the lead went back and forth the first few minutes of the game, AVC took over, going ahead, 9-8, on a basket by Ctr Jerome Moten. And they led the rest of the night. Consecutive threes by Cody and PF Robert (Reggie) Arnold made it 14-8, and a jam by PF Mahamoud Diakite on a long pass from PG Jacobe Shannon made it 16-8.
From there, AVC kept extending its lead and seemed to get more confident with each made shot. The energy on defense was smothering, and Southwest had trouble getting the ball to their top scorer, SG Chris Smith. On those few occasions when he got the ball, he was met with an immediate double-team and forced to give it up, and ended the night with just 4 points.
The AVC lead continued to grow throughout the first half. A 3-pointer by Shannon and a jam by SF Jason West pushed the margin to double figures at 23-12. After a driving lay-up by Southwest Ctr Jejuan Brown, Cody drained another three to make it 26-14.
Southwest trimmed the lead to 7 at 26-19 after a basket by PF Tylon Bickman and a 3-pointer by SG Jenero Jefferson. But then AVC pulled away for good on a 3-pointer by SG Jovan McIver, a pair of free throws by Diakite and a basket by Ctr JaVaughn Espritt on a pass from Arnold that made it 33-19. Then a basket by Arnold after a pass from Espritt made it 35-19.
Southwest got a free throw from PG Kendrick Harris and a basket by Brown to make it 35-22, but baskets by West and Arnold extended AVC's lead back to 17 at 39-22. And then the lead went to 21 on baskets by Arnold and West that made it 43-22 with 2:40 left in the first half. The lead grew to 25 on a basket by West and a 3-pointer by Cody, and Arnold pushed the margin to 27 at 53-26 at halftime when he drew a foul and made a pair of free throws with 0.6 seconds left before the break.
And when the second half began, the onslaught continued. A 3-pointer by Arnold pushed the AVC lead to 30 at 58-28 early in the second half. A Cody 3-pointer extended the margin to 33 at 65-32, and the lead eventually reached 35 at 70-35 midway through the half.
Southwest put together an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 24 at 70-46, but never seriously threatened. The closest the Cougars got was the final score, a 16-point margin. And the highlight of the night for Southwest was an amazing blocked shot by the 6-0 Harris, who raced back and swatted away a lay-up try by the 6-5 Arnold. Harris also had a pair of acrobatic dunks on breakaways in the second half.
For AVC, Cody had a remarkable all-around game with 22 pts, including the 6 threes, plus 4 rebs, 6 asts, 3 blocks and 3 steals. He shot 8 for 13 from the floor.
But he also had plenty of support. Arnold had 18 pts, 6 rebs, 5 asts and 3 blocks, while West had 16 pts and 7 rebs. Espritt finished with 14 pts, 9 rebs and 3 asts. And Shannon, the only member of the starting five not to score in double figures, just missed a double-double with 8 pts and 9 asts. Plus, the bench combined for 16 pts on 6-of-6 from the floor plus 7 rebs and 5 asts.
For Southwest, Harris had a spectacular game despite the final score. The skywalking 6-0 point guard had a game-high 24 pts, a team-high 9 asts, 3 steals and that amazing blocked shot. Bickman also had a strong game with 19 pts, 9 rebs, 3 blocks and 5 steals. But no other Cougar managed more than 8 points, and Smith, who entered the game averaging 18.8 pts per game on 52% shooting, had just 4 pts on 2-of-7 from the floor and 5 turnovers.
With the win, perhaps AVC's finest performance of the season, the Marauders advance to the regional final and will face the winner of tomorrow night's Glendale/Fullerton matchup. That could be especially intriguing, as Head Coach Dieter Horton and top Assistant Chris Malloy led Fullerton to an undefeated season and the state championship in 2006 before moving to Antelope Valley.
With the loss, LA Southwest's second straight defeat after having a 12-game winning streak snapped in the regular-season finale, the Cougars finish 23-9.
box score
Friday, February 29, 2008 - 7 pm
at LA Southwest College
Playoffs - First Round
Antelope Valley Marauders 94:
5-Jason West, SF - 8/14 fg, 7 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 3 pf, 16 pts
11-Raymond Cody, SG - 8/13 fg, 4 reb, 6 ast, 3 blk, 3 stl, 1 pf, 22 pts
12-Jacobe Shannon, PG - 3/6 fg, 1 reb, 9 ast, 3 pf, 8 pts
21-Robert (Reggie) Arnold, PF - 7/16 fg, 2/2 ft, 6 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk, 1 stl, 1 pf, 18 pts
22-JaVaughn Espritt, C - 6/11 fg, 2/6 ft, 9 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 14 pts
10-Jovan McIver, G - 2/2 fg, 3 ast, 5 pts
32-Mahamoud Diakite, F - 2/2 fg, 2/4 ft, 4 reb, 2 blk, 3 pf, 6 pts
34-Jerome Moten, C - 2/2 fg, 1/2 ft, 3 reb, 1 stl, 1 pf, 5 pts
1-Durrell Norman, F - 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 0 pts
2-Chevy Wade, G - 1 pf, 0 pts
33-Tarrance Taylor, F - 0 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 38/66 fg (.576), 7/14 ft (.500), 36 reb, 29 ast, 9 blk, 9 stl, 15 pf, 94 pts
3-pt fg (11): Cody 6, Shannon 2, Arnold 2, McIver
Turnovers (19): West 4, Cody 4, Shannon 4, Diakite 2, Wade 2, Arnold, Espritt, McIver
LA Southwest Cougars 78:
22-Chris Smith, SG - 2/7, 1 ast, 1 stl, 4 pts
23-Kendrick Harris, PG - 11/15 fg, 2/4 ft, 2 reb, 9 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 2 pf, 24 pts
32-Roy Walker, SF - 2 reb, 3 pf, 0 pts
42-Tylon Bickman, PF - 6/12 fg, 7/8 ft, 9 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk, 5 stl, 2 pf, 19 pts
50-Jejuan Brown, C - 3/11 fg, 1/2 ft, 8 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 pf, 7 pts
2-Eules Thompson, G - 3/5 fg, 8 pts
12-Donnell Wright, F - 3 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 0 pts
20-Tremayne Johnson, F - 3/6 fg, 1/2 ft, 3 reb, 1 stl, 2 pf, 7 pts
1-Jenero Jefferson, G - 1/6 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 3 pts
11-Andrew Campbell, G - 0/1 fg, 0 pts
33-Alan Mitchell, G - 1/2 fg, 3 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 2 pts
31-Dominic Gibbs, F - 1/2 fg, 2 pts
30-Tobi Otomosho, F - 1/1 fg, 1 reb, 2 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 32/69 fg (.464), 11/16 ft (.688), 35 reb, 17 ast, 6 blk, 12 stl, 14 pf, 78 pts
3-pt fg (3): Thompson 2, Jefferson
Turnovers (17): Smith 5, Harris 5, Walker 3, Thompson 2, Johnson, team
Halftime Score: Antelope Valley 53, LA Southwest 26
Updated Records: Antelope Valley (#10 seed) 25-10, LA Southwest (#7 seed) 23-9
