In a matchup of last year's WSC-South co-champions, Bakersfield (13-9, 1-0) held off a late rally by host Canyons (6-12, 0-2) to get a 93-87 win Saturday night at the Cougar Cage in Santa Clarita.
Bakersfield never trailed, but saw its once-mighty 21-point lead shrink to just 3 points with 1:22 left. But a basket and a pair of free throws by SG Justin Calhoun kept the Renegades in front, and a basket by SF Darrin Dorsey after a rebound & pass from PG Reggie Lassiter with 8 seconds left clinched the win for Bakersfield.
Bakersfield never trailed, opening the game with a 3-pointer by Lassiter to go ahead, 3-0. PG Brian Kimble answered with a three of his own for Canyons to tie the game, but then Bakersfield got a 3-pointer from Dorsey that started an 11-0 run that saw the Renegades go ahead by 11 at 14-3.
The Bakersfield led reached 18 in the first half at 31-13, but then Canyons rallied to cut the margin to 6 at 37-31 before going into halftime trailing by 10 at 49-39.
In the second half, Bakersfield began by scoring the first 4 points of the second half to extend the lead back to 14 at 53-39. A 3-point play by Calhoun extended the margin to 17 at 62-45. The lead reached 21 at 69-48 after a 3-pointer by Calhoun with 12:20 left.
But Canyons rallied, cutting the margin to single digits at 78-69 after a basket by Ctr Donjay Kakonde with 4:35 left. Less than a minute later, a 3-pointer by SG Gerardo Zuniga made it a 7-point game at 81-74 with 3:43 left.
Bakersfield seemed ready to pull away again, pushing the lead back to 11 after a steal & dunk by PG Gary Felices that made it 87-76.
But Canyons again chipped away at the lead, getting a basket from PF Justin Smith to make it 87-78. Then a pair of free throws by Kimble after a rebound brought Canyons back within 7 at 87-80 with 1:36 left. Another pair of Kimble free throws 11 seconds left made it a 5-point game at 87-82 with 1:25 remaining. And, after two missed free throws by Lassiter, Smith made it a 3-point game with two free throws after a rebound. At that point, Canyons trailed, 87-84, with 1:22 left.
But that was as close as Canyons would get. A pair of free throws by Calhoun with 1:19 left gave the Renegades a 5-point lead at 89-84. Kimble then made one of two free throws for the Cougars to make it 89-85, but then Lassiter passed to Calhoun for a basket to make it 91-85. Smith grabbed an offensive rebound, scored and was fouled with 43 seconds left. But he missed the free throw, keeping it a 4-point game at 91-87.
As the clock wound down, Canyons did not foul, allowing Bakersfield to use the entire shot clock. As the shot clock buzzer sounded, Dorsey's jumper from the baseline bounced off the rim and into the hands of Lassiter, who quickly passed back to Dorsey for a lay-up that made it 93-87 and clinched the win for the Renegades.
For Bakersfield, Calhoun had a team-high 20 pts, while Lassiter and Dorsey each had 17. Lassiter, who was 6-of-6 from the floor, also had a game-high 10 asts and 4 steals. Dorsey had an eye-popping total of 7 steals. Felices came off the bench to add 14 pts on 5-of-6 shooting.
For Canyons, Kimble led the way with a game-high 25 pts plus 7 rebs, 4 asts and 2 steals. Smith came off the bench to finish with 14 pts and 6 rebs despite not playing in the first half. PF Travis Hayden had 13 pts (3 threes) and Zuniga had 12 pts (plus 4 asts).
box score
Saturday, January 12, 2008 - 7:30 pm
at the Cougar Cage, Santa Clarita
WSC-South
Bakersfield Renegades 93:
1-Justin Calhoun, SG - 5/9 fg, 9/13 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 pf, 20 pts
11-Reggie Lassiter, PG - 6/6 fg, 4/6 ft, 3 reb, 10 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl, 3 pf, 17 pts
40-Darrin Dorsey, SF - 4/9 fg, 8/10 ft, 2 reb, 3 ast, 7 stl, 2 pf, 17 pts
42-Alex Olcott, PF - 0/1 fg, 1/1 ft, 3 reb, 2 stl, 4 pf, 1 pt
55-Bobby Fisher, C - 0/5 fg, 2/2 ft, 4 reb, 1 ast, 2 pts
3-Kyle Watkins, G - 2/4 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 6 pts
22-Jamar Harrison, F - 3/5 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 7 pts
30-Gary Felices, G - 5/6 fg, 2/4 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 14 pts
33-Daniel Williams, F - 3/7 fg, 0/1 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 5 pf, 7 pts
23-Jimmy Scroggins, F - 1/2 fg, 2 reb, 1 blk, 3 pf, 2 pts
50-Daniel Thomas, G - 0/2 ft, 0 pts
44-Gabriel Thrash, C - 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 0 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 29/55 fg (.527), 27/41 ft (.659), 31 reb, 20 ast, 3 blk, 18 stl, 24 pf, 93 pts
3-pt fg (8): Watkins 2, Felices 2, Calhoun, Lassiter, Dorsey, Williams
Fouled Out: Williams 1:36 left
Turnovers (24): Harrison 5, Calhoun 4, Lassiter 4, Dorsey 2, Fisher 2, Felices 2, Olcott, Watkins, Williams, Scroggins, Thrash
Canyons Cougars 87:
12-Jason Holzwarth, SG - 2/8 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 2 pf, 6 pts
23-Brian Kimble, PG - 8/17 fg, 6/8 ft, 7 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 25 pts
24-Travis Hayden, PF - 5/7 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 4 pf, 13 pts
32-Behrang Bejoo, SF - 1/3 fg, 0/1 ft, 3 reb, 4 ast, 1 lbk, 1 stl, 4 pf, 2 pts
42-Donjay Kakonde, C - 2/3 fg, 2/4 ft, 5 reb, 2 blk, 2 pf, 6 pts
3-Gerardo Zuniga, G - 3/7 fg, 4/4 ft, 1 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 12 pts
33-Andrey Orlov, C - 1/1 fg, 3 reb, 2 pf, 2 pts
34-Brian Nwaeke, F - 1/3 fg, 3/4 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 2 pf, 5 pts
30-Joel Spriggs, G - 1/3 fg, 1 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 4 pf, 2 pts
11-Kevin Bruce, G - 1 ast, 0 pts
21-Justin Smith, F - 5/7 fg, 4/5 ft, 6 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 14 pts
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 29/59 fg (.492), 19/26 ft (.731), 37 reb, 22 ast, 5 blk, 12 stl, 30 pf, 87 pts
3-pt fg (10): Kimble 3, Hayden 3, Holzwarth 2, Zuniga 2
Turnovers (28): Holzwarth 6, Kimble 4, Kakonde 3, Spriggs 3, Hayden 2, Zuniga 2, Orlov 2, Nwaeke 2, Smith 2, Bejoo, Bruce
Halftime Score: Bakersfield 49, Canyons 39
Updated Records: Bakersfield 13-9 overall, 1-0 in WSC-South; Canyons 6-12 overall, 0-2 in WSC-South
Bakersfield led by 21 at 69-48 with 12:20 left. Canyons rallied to make it 87-84 with 1:22 left but a pair of free throws and a basket by Calhoun kept BC in front. A basket by Dorsey after a rebound & feed from Lassiter made it 93-87 and clinched the win for the Renegades.
