PF Emmett Duvall scored on a putback with 20.3 seconds left, following a steal by PG Jason Moore to lift #7 Glendale to a 73-71 win over WSC-South rival Santa Monica and give coach Brian Beauchemin his 589th win Saturday evening at Verdugo Gym in Glendale.
Glendale (19-4, 7-2) saw its 15-point lead disappear, as SG Madison Higgins gave Santa Monica (13-9, 2-6) a 71-70 lead with 1:12 to play. PG Jalen Etienne split two free throws for Glendale with 50.7 seconds left to tie the score at 71. Moments later, the Corsairs nearly turned the ball over, which led to a timeout by coach Jerome Jenkins. But about 10 seconds later, Moore stole the ball for the Vaqueros and raced down the court.
Moore missed the lay-up, but Duvall picked up the rebound and laid it in to give Glendale the lead. Santa Monica had plenty of time to answer, but Ctr Marcus Harris' 3-point try bounced off the rim with about 5 seconds left, and SG Mike Ratliff's putback try missed as the final horn sounded.
All of that drama seemed most unlikely early in the second half, as Glendale started the half with an 8-2 spurt to extend its 9-point halftime lead to 15 points at 54-39 after a 3-pointer by SG Emerson Castaneda. The Vaqueros also led by 15 at 60-45 and 63-48, seemingly ready to cruise to the win.
But Santa Monica rallied late, cutting the margin to single digits with just over 8 minutes left when PG Adam Griffin scored on a runner. Higgins made 2 free throws with 7:24 left to make it 69-62. Then Ratliff scored from in close to cut the deficit to five points at 69-64 with just over 6 minutes left. Higgins hit a short jumper to cut the margin to four points at 70-66 with just under 5 minutes to go.
Then Glendale Ctr Gor Plavchyan fouled out chasing a rebound, depriving the Vaqueros of their leading scorer for the final 4:35. Harris' putback basket with 3:40 left made it 70-68. Rafliff split two free throws after a steal to make it a one-point game at 70-69 with 2:51 left. And Higgins gave Santa Monica its first lead since 17-16 with his basket with 1:12 left.
Santa Monica had that 17-16 lead just 5:05 into the game, as both teams started out sizzling hot. Glendale took a 9-5 lead early, making its first 3 shots of the game, all three-pointers. But Santa Monica went ahead, 12-9, on a Higgins three that made the Corsairs 5-for-6 from the floor. Glendale got a 3-point play from Plavchyan to take a 14-12 lead, but Higgins answered with a 3-point field goal to give SMC a 15-14 advantage. A short jumper by Etienne put Glendale ahead, 16-15, but two free throws by PF Anthony Harris Jr. gave the Corsairs a 17-16 lead. At that point, the teams had combined for 33 points in 5:05; had they continued that pace, the final score would have been 131-130.
Of course, the teams couldn't keep up that pace. And Glendale then went on an 8-0 run to take a lead it would hold until the final 1:12 of the game. The lead stretched to as many as 11 points at 40-29 after a baseline jumper by Duvall with just over 4 minutes left in the first half.
However, moments later, Plavchyan was called for a blocking foul - his second foul in less than a minute and third of the game - and in the aftermath he was also assessed a technical foul, which counted as his 4th personal foul as well, sending him to the bench with 3:25 left in the first half. Glendale continued to lead, and held a 9-point advantage at the half at 46-37, but Plavchyan would foul out as Santa Monica rallied to take the lead late in the game.
For Glendale, Castaneda scored a team-high 19 pts, including 5 three-pointers, and also grabbed 9 rebs. Etienne had 16 pts and a game-high 11 asts. Plavchyan had 12 pts and 9 rebs despite the foul trouble, and Duvall had 10 pts and 9 rebs including the winning basket. SF Sontiago Grady had 10 pts, 5 rebs and 3 asts.
For Santa Monica, Higgins poured in a game-high 31 pts on 12-for-20 from the floor, with 4 threes; he also had 4 rebs and 2 asts. But his fellow SoCal Splash Brother, SG Keilan Horton missed the game with a back muscle injury. Marcus Harris had 11 pts but was the only other Corsair to score in double digits. PG Jerry Shevlin dished out a team-high 5 asts. But Santa Monica was outrebounded 48-29, even with Plavchyan hobbled by the foul trouble.
The win keeps Glendale a half-game behind WSC-South leader Antelope Valley, which also won Saturday (against West LA). And it moves Beauchemin into sole possession of 4th place on the all-time California Community College career victories list.
box score
Saturday, February 8, 2014 - 5 pm
at Verdugo Gym, Glendale
WSC-South
Santa Monica Corsairs 71:
0-Jerry Shevlin, PG - 1/6 fg, 1 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 2 pts
1-Madison Higgins, SG - 12/20 fg, 3/5 ft, 4 reb, 2 ast, 2 pf, 31 pts
12-Marcus Harris, C - 4/7 fg, 2/3 ft, 2 reb, 2 blk, 1 pf, 11 pts
14-Ronnie Price, SF - 1/7 fg, 2/3 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 4 pts
32-Henry Anyanwu, PF - 1/3 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 3 pf, 2 pts
22-Anthony Harris Jr., F - 1/3 fg, 3/4 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 5 pts
11-Trey Thompson, F - 1/2 fg, 0/2 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 pf, 2 pts
5-Adam Griffin, G - 3/7 fg, 2 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 7 pts
23-Laik Carter, C - 0/1 fg, 0 pts
15-Tyler James, F - 4 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 0 pts
3-Will Taylor, G - 1/2 fg, 1 reb, 2 pts
4-Mike Ratliff, G - 2/8 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 stl, 1 pf, 5 pts
2-Jordan Walker, G - 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 27/66 fg (.409), 11/19 ft (.579), 29 reb, 16 ast, 4 blk, 5 stl, 14 pf, 71 pts
3-pt fg (6): Higgins 4, M.Harris, Griffin
Turnovers (6): Shevlin 2, A.Harris 2, Thompson, Griffin
Glendale Vaqueros 73:
10-Jalen Etienne, PG - 5/11 fg, 4/7 ft, 5 reb, 11 ast, 2 stl, 16 pts
22-Emerson Castaneda, SG - 7/12 fg, 9 reb, 1 ast, 3 pf, 19 pts
24-Sammy Darling, PF - 1/1 fg, 2 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 2 pf, 2 pts
30-Sontiago Grady, SF - 4/7 fg, 1/2 ft, 5 reb, 3 ast, 3 pf, 10 pts
45-Gor Plavchyan, C - 5/10 fg, 2/3 ft, 9 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 5 pf, 12 pts
11-Jason Moore, G - 0/1 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 pf, 0 pts
35-Emmett Duvall II, F - 5/14 fg, 9 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 pf, 10 pts
40-Nick Kahn, F - 2/3 fg, 5 reb, 4 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 29/59 fg (.492), 7/12 ft (.583), 48 reb, 23 ast, 3 blk, 4 stl, 15 pf, 73 pts
3-pt fg (8): Castaneda 5, Etienne 2, Grady
Technical Foul: Plavchyan
Fouled Out: Plavchyan 4:35 left
Turnovers (18): Etienne 5, Moore 4, Darling 3, Duvall 3, Plavchyan 2, Castaneda
Halftime Score: Glendale 46, Santa Monica 37
Updated Records: Glendale (#7-South, #15-Calif) 19-4, 7-2 in WSC-S; Santa Monica 13-9, 2-6 in WSC-S
Glendale led by as many as 15 points (several times) early in the 2nd half.
Santa Monica took a 71-70 lead on a Higgins putback with 1:12 left
Duvall's putback with 20.3 seconds left after a Moore steal won it for Glendale.
M.Harris had a good look at a 3-pointer and Ratliff had a chance at a putback for SMC in the final seconds.
This is Glendale Coach Brian Beauchemin's 589th career win, and he's now 4th on the all-time California list.
