#8 Fresno City finally made it back to Fresno Wednesday night, playing a home game for the first time since November and taking on Columbia in CVC action. And like a plague of locusts, the Rams (15-5, 3-0) swarmed, tormented and finally devoured the Claimjumpers (7-10, 1-2) in a most impressive 49-point victory.
Coach Ed Madec's defense pressured Columbia into a shocking total of 46 turnovers in the 40-minute game as Fresno took a 6-0 lead in the game's opening minutes and led wire-to-wire.
The margin was just 14 at halftime. At the time, it seemed like a fairly large lead, and the Rams had already forced 25 Columbia turnovers in the first half.
But in the second half it got even worse for the Claimjumpers. And with PF Cheyanne Alcala and SF Alex Fletcher adding some 3-pointers, the Fresno margin continued to grow, finally reaching an astounding 50-point margin before a Columbia free throw in the final minute made the final margin "just" 49 points.
Fresno began the season by playing in six tournaments, all but one of them out of town, and then began CVC play with a pair of road games last week. Those resulted in two solid victories, and the Rams boasted an overall record of 14-5 entering Wednesday's conference home opener.
But this was an onslaught, a massacre of biblical proportions. And it was more than a bit of a surprise. After all, Columbia had just beaten West Hills, a team expected to challenge for third place in the CVC and a potential playoff spot, and then lost by just a point to Sequoias, widely believed to be Fresno's top competition for the CVC title.
The way Fresno played Wednesday, they may not have much competition, in or out of the CVC. The Rams generated 25 steals while committing just 21 turnovers despite the frantic pace. Thirteen different Rams scored, five in double figures, and Fresno hit a total of 14 threes.
Early on, it seemed Columbia was maybe wound up a little too tight. Coach Nathan Rien was assessed a technical foul just 37 seconds into the game for improper use of a participle, and Columbia missed its first 3 shots from the floor while committing 3 turnovers on its first 6 possessions to fall behind, 6-0.
But Columbia steadied itself, drawing within 4 points at 11-7 at one point, and seemed ready to challenge the Rams on their home court.
Then came a 14-2 Fresno run, pushing the lead out to 16 points at 25-9 after a Fletcher 3-pointer. After a Columbia basket, another Fletcher 3-pointer pushed the lead to 17 at 28-11.
But Columbia hung tough, closing the margin to 9 points at 32-23 after a pair of free throws by PF John Sykes with 3:18 left in the half.
Fresno then went on an 8-1 spurt, pushing the lead to 40-24 after a 3-pointer by SF Percy Lemle in the final minute of the half. Sykes hit a baseline jumper for Columbia to bring the Claimjumpers within 14 points at 40-26 at the break.
The break lasted about 20 minutes, as the scoreboard in the gym malfunctioned, causing a delay to the start of the second half. Ironically, the trouble was with the shot clock, probably the least-necessary item in the building, given the pace of the game. Finally, the shot clock behind the Fresno basket came on. Madec offered to change ends and let Columbia shoot towards the visible shot clock, but Rien declined, and the game continued.
Perhaps Columbia should have changed ends. Or sabotaged the other shot clock. Or shut off the lights, a la the Boston Bruins in the 1988 NHL Finals when they were in danger of getting swept by Wayne Gretzky's Edmonton Oilers. Because when the second half began, Fresno just dominated.
Alcala hit a 3-pointer in the opening seconds for Fresno, making it 43-26. Fletcher made a free throw after a steal to make it 44-26. After a Columbia basket, Fletcher hit a 3-pointer to make it 47-28. Then a free throw by Ctr Felix Mapanda made it 48-28, and another Alcala 3-pointer made it 51-28.
By now, the rout was on. The opening spurt became a 27-6 run, pushing Fresno's lead to 37 at 67-32, at which time Columbia had as many turnovers (32) as points. A 3-pointer by SG LaBrent Chappell made it a 41-point game at 85-45 with 6:25 left. A driving lay-up by SG Brandon Johnson made it 103-53 in the final minute. A free throw by Columbia SG Moses Manning closed out the scoring and brought the margin to the final tally of 49.
For Fresno, Fletcher had 17 pts, including 5 threes, and Alcala had 15 pts, including 5 threes. Mapanda had 13 pts and PF Jibreel Nasir also had 13 pts plus 8 rebs. Lemle had 12 pts plus 4 rebs, 4 asts and 5 steals. Remarkably, the Fresno onslaught occured despite its top scorers on the season, PF Ed Willis and Johnson, combining for just 11 of the team's 103 points.
For Columbia, Sykes led all scorers with 22 pts on 10-for-15 from the floor. SF Evan Scott had 15 pts and 6 rebs.
box score
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 - 7 pm
at Fresno City College
Central Valley Conference
Columbia Claimjumpers 54:
5-Kevin Cole, SG - 1 stl, 0 pts
12-John Sykes, PF - 10/15 fg, 2/5 ft, 4 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 pf, 22 pts
21-Bobby Monges, PG - 0/3 fg, 4 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 3 pf, 0 pts
30-Patrick Rien, C - 1/3 fg, 6 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 3 pf, 2 pts
32-Evan Scott, SF - 5/10 fg, 5/8 ft, 6 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 15 pts
2-Rob Armstrong, G - 1/4 fg, 3 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 2 pts
33-Mike Lawrence, F - 2/3 fg, 6 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 4 pts
31-Alfredo Jiminez, F - 1/6 fg, 5 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 2 pts
24-Moses Manning, G - 3/3 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 7 pts
44-Steven Palmer, C - 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 0 pts
15-Humberto Martinez, G - 0/3 fg, 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 23/50 fg (.460), 8/15 ft (.533), 39 reb, 18 ast, 3 blk, 8 stl, 18 pf, 54 pts
3-pt fg (0): None
Technical Foul: Coach N. Rien
Turnovers (46): Monges 9, Scott 8, Sykes 6, Armstrong 6, P.Rien 4, Jiminez 4, Lawrence 3, Manning 3, Cole 2, Martinez
Fresno Rams 103:
20-Alex Fletcher, SF - 5/13 fg, 2/4 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 pf, 17 pts
21-Cheyanne Alcala, PF - 5/8 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 15 pts
22-Earl Jefferson, C - 1/5 fg, 8 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk, 2 pf, 2 pts
31-A.J. Bridges, G - 3/5 fg, 4 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl, 6 pts
33-Brandon Hawkins, SG - 1/9 fg, 3 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 1 pf, 2 pts
2-Brandon Johnson, G - 2/3 fg, 3/4 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl, 7 pts
10-Edward Willis, F - 1/1 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 4 pts
14-Kintin Scott, G - 1/6 fg, 3 ast, 2 pf, 3 pts
4-LaBrent Chappell, G - 2/6 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 ast, 1 stl, 7 pts
15-Felix Mapanda, C - 5/8 fg, 3/5 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 13 pts
35-Percy Lemle, F - 4/9 fg, 2/4 ft, 4 reb, 4 ast, 5 stl, 1 pf, 12 pts
1-Jibreel Nasir, F - 6/8 fg, 1/2 ft, 8 reb, 2 stl, 13 pts
34-Davon Walls, C - 1/1 fg, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 pf, 2 pts
3-Ian Collis, F - 1 reb, 0 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 37/82 fg (.451), 15/23 ft (.652), 45 reb, 23 ast, 4 blk, 25 stl, 17 pf, 103 pts
3-pt fg (14): Fletcher 5, Alcala 5, Lemle 2, Scott, Chappell
Turnovers (21): Jefferson 3, Bridges 3, Johnson 3, Alcala 2, Scott 2, Mapanda 2, Walls 2, Fletcher, Lemle, Nasir, Collis
Halftime Score: Fresno 40, Columbia 26
Updated Records: Fresno (#8-North, #16-Calif) 15-5, 3-0 in CVC; Columbia 7-10, 1-2 in CVC
Fresno began the second half on a 27-6 run to break it open
