PF James Hanks scored 20 pts, including 5 three-pointers, and Ctr Darryl Matthews had 19 pts and 8 rebs for West LA in a 77-63 win over host LA Valley Saturday afternoon in WSC-South action in Valley Glen.
Hanks, who isn't really a power forward but plays one in West LA's small lineup that would make veteran NBA coach Don Nelson smile, drained a 3-point shot off a pass from Matthews moments after Matthews converted a traditional 3-point play to enable the Wildcats (6-12, 2-2) to hold off a late comeback bid by the host Monarchs.
West LA took a 50-26 lead with 18:15 left in the game after a 3-pointer by Hanks, the Wildcats' 10th 3-point field goal of the game. But as the 3-pointers stopped falling, LA Valley rallied to cut the deficit to single digits at 68-59 with 2:40 left in the game.
But then Matthews provided the Wildcats a different type of three-point play, the traditional type, to make it 71-59. After Valley SF Jamin Lackey hit a short jumper at the other end, the Wildcats got the ball inside to Matthews once again, but this time he passed it right back out to Hanks in the left corner, who drained his 5th 3-pointer of the game to make it 74-61, and West LA led by double digits the rest of the way.
West LA used its 3-point shooting to build its lead, and led almost all of the way against the hard-luck Monarchs. LA Valley led, 4-2, early on, but West went on a 10-0 run to lead 12-4 and never trailed again. Valley got within four points a couple of times and trailed by just 8 points at 26-18 with just over 8 minutes left in the first half.
But then West LA went on a 7-0 run, pushing the lead to 15 points after 2 free throws by Matthews with 6:10 left in the half that made it 33-18. The Wildcats continued to stretch their lead, and led, 42-26, at the half after a slam dunk by SF DeAndre Brown off an outlet pass from Ctr Joseph Estrada following a steal by SG Brandon Hood in the final seconds of the first half.
When the second half started, West LA continued to expand its lead, scoring the first 8 points of the half in the first 1:45 of the half. A jumper by Matthews in the opening seconds was followed by 3-pointers by Hood and Hanks, making it 50-26 with 18:15 left.
But those would be West's last 3-pointers until the final minutes of the game, and that allowed LA Valley to get back into the game. A basket by Lackey after a spectacular play by PF Alex Huerta, who blocked a shot, corraled the rebound and threw an outlet pass to Lackey, made it 52-36. Then PG Chris Aguilar banked home a 3-pointer on one trip and then followed that with a Duncan-esque bank-shot that looked a lot more intentional to make it 61-47 midway through the second half.
A 3-pointer by SG Travon White brought Valley within 12 points at 66-54 with just under 6 minutes left. A free throw by Aguilar made it 68-57 about a minute later, and a minute after that Lackey made a free throw following a steal to cut the West LA lead to ten points. Then West LA starting PG Marvin Butler fouled out on a charging call with 3:32 left. And PF Drew Ruffin Cannon split two free throws with 2:40 left to cut the margin to 9 points at 68-59.
But that would be as close as LA Valley would get. After Matthews' 3-point play, Hanks ended West LA's 3-point field goal drought, and that kept West LA in control of the game. Matthews made one of two free throws and Hood made a pair in the final 37.7 seconds to close out the scoring for West LA.
Hood led the winners with his 20 pts, and his 5 3-pointers were game-high. Matthews just missed a double-double with his 19 pts and team-high 8 rebs, and added 2 blocks and 2 steals. Hood had 13 pts, including three-pointers, plus 3 rebs, 5 asts and 3 steals. SF Brandon Yamada dished out a team-high 6 asts and Butler had 8 pts and 5 asts before fouling out.
For LA Valley, Lackey led all scorers with 24 pts, and he added 4 rebs, 2 asts, 2 blocks and a steal. Huerta had a double-double with 11 pts, a game-high 12 rebs, plus 4 asts and 3 blocked shots. Aguilar had 6 pts and a game-high 7 asts.
The win keeps West LA at .500 in WSC-South play in its first year back following a brief hiatus and its first year under head coach Chris Acker. Meanwhile, Valley falls to 1-14 overall, though 8 of those losses have been by fewer than 15 points.
box score
Saturday, January 18, 2014 - 5 pm
at the Monarch Sports Pavilion, Valley Glen
WSC-South
West LA Wildcats 77:
0-Marvin Butler, PG - 2/6 fg, 2/4 ft, 1 reb, 5 ast, 5 pf, 8 pts
2-Brandon Yamada, SF - 1/4 fg, 5 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 2 pts
12-Brandon Hood, SG - 4/9 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl, 2 pf, 13 pts
20-James Hanks, PF - 6/14 fg, 3/4 ft, 2 reb, 2 stl, 1 pf, 20 pts
22-Darryl Matthews, C - 7/10 fg, 5/8 ft, 8 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl, 4 pf, 19 pts
4-DeAndre Brown, F - 2/9 fg, 0/2 ft, 2 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 4 pts
11-Anthony Gilmer, G - 1/3 fg, 1 reb, 1 stl, 2 pf, 2 pts
1-Joseph Campos, G - 2/4 fg, 1 reb, 2 pf, 5 pts
3-Deion McCoy, F - 0/3 fg, 1 reb, 2 ast, 2 pf, 0 pts
21-Joseph Estrada, C - 2/4 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 4 pts
team rebounds: 7
Totals: 27/66 fg (.409), 12/20 ft (.600), 33 reb, 24 ast, 3 blk, 11 stl, 22 pf, 77 pts
3-pt fg (11): Hanks 5, Hood 3, Butler 2, Campos
Fouled Out: Butler 3:32 left
Turnovers (14): Hood 4, Butler 3, Brown 2, Estrada 2, Hanks, Matthews, McCoy
LA Valley Monarchs 63:
2-Chris Aguilar, PG - 2/5 fg, 1/1 ft, 4 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl, 2 pf, 6 pts
3-Jamin Lackey, SF - 11/17 fg, 1/4 ft, 4 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl, 1 pf, 24 pts
12-Travon White, SG - 2/7 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 7 pts
21-Alex Huerta, PF - 5/11 fg, 1/1 ft, 12 reb, 4 ast, 3 blk, 4 pf, 11 pts
35-Christian Boyer, C - 2/3 fg, 0/1 ft, 2 reb, 3 blk, 1 pf, 4 pts
30-Andrew Estes, F - 2/5 fg, 5 reb, 2 stl, 6 pts
32-Drew Ruffin Cannon, F - 0/4 fg, 1/4 ft, 6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 1 pt
5-Sandro Alberto, G - 1/3 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 ast, 4 pf, 4 pts
20-Eric Singleton, F - 1 reb, 1 pf, 0 pts
4-Milan Pfeisinger, G - 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 25/55 fg (.455), 8/15 ft (.533), 42 reb, 18 ast, 8 blk, 6 stl, 17 pf, 63 pts
3-pt fg (5): Estes 2, Aguilar, Lackey, White
Technical Foul: Boyer
Turnovers (26): Aguilar 6, Alberto 6, White 3, Boyer 3, Huerta 2, Estes 2, Lackey, Cannon, Singleton, team
Halftime Score: West LA 42, LA Valley 26
Updated Records: West LA 6-12, 2-2 in WSC-S; LA Valley 1-14, 1-2 in WSC-S
West LA led 50-26. LA Valley got within 9 at 68-59 with 2:40 left
Matthews converted a 3-pt play for West. After Lackey hit a jumper for Valley, Matthews passed to Hanks for a 3-point field goal to make it 74-61 and West led by double digits the rest of the way.
