The much-anticipated rematch of the 2007 state championship game was no contest, as host #8 (South) Antelope Valley (14-6) blew out #4 (North) Fresno, 93-70, Wednesday night in Lancaster. AVC got 30 points from Reggie Arnold and began the second half with a 27-6 run to blow the game open, reversing the outcome of last March's championship game.
AVC had lost three of its last four games, but was in top form against Fresno, shooting 55% from the floor and limiting the Rams to 32% and just 6 threes. And though AVC had plenty of turnovers (33), the Marauders actually had more steals than Fresno, 18-15, and limited the points off turnovers.
Early on, the lead went back and forth, and Fresno actually held an 18-15 advantage midway through the first half.
But from that point on, AVC dominated. The Marauders then went on a 14-1 run, taking a lead on a three by PG Jacobe Shannon and getting baskets by SF Durrell Norman, PF JaVaughn Espritt and Shannon to take a 26-18 lead. After a Fresno free throw, Arnold knocked down a three to put AVC ahead by 10 at 29-19 with 6:15 left in the first half.
AVC pushed the lead to as much as 14 points late in the half after a baseline drive by SF Jason West made it 36-22 with just over three minutes left before the break. Fresno cut the margin to 11 late in the half, but a three by Shannon in the final seconds pushed AVC's lead back to 14 at 43-29 at the break.
And when the second half began, AVC broke the game open with the 27-6 run, holding Fresno to 0-for-9 from the floor with 8 turnovers in the first 8-plus minutes. A pair of baskets by Norman and a putback basket by Espritt pushed the lead to 18 at 49-31, and a pair of free throws by Arnold made it a 20-point game at 51-31 with 17:14 left.
But AVC wasn't finished just yet. A jumper by Arnold made it 53-31, and a steal & basket by Shannon pushed it to 55-31. An Arnold three made it 58-31 with 15:45 remaining.
Then came the play that epitomized what kind of night it was for AVC. Beneath the basket, Arnold was knocked to the floor, but after a missed shot the rebound went right to him. From his knees, he threw the ball off the rim, jumped to his feet and grabbed the rebound, and scored on the putback to make it 60-31.
Finally, Ctr Thomas Ammon scored on a pass from PF Brian Minor to break the drought for Fresno. But then came a 3-point play by West (on a dish from Shannon) and a 3-point play by Shannon after a steal, pushing AVC's lead to 70-35 with 11:11 remaining.
For AVC, Arnold led the way with 30 pts, 9 rebs, 3 asts, 3 blocks and 3 steals. West came off the bench for a huge game, finishing with 21 pts, 5 rebs, 3 asts, 5 blocks and 3 steals. Norman (11 pts, 5 rebs, 5 asts), SG Jovan McIver (11 pts, 5 asts) and Shannon (10 pts, 6 asts, 3 stl) also had solid games, as did Espritt (8 pts, 12 rebs, 5 stl). Overall, AVC shot 54.8% from the floor and had 6 threes, the same number as Fresno.
For Fresno, SG Aaron Hill led the way with 13 pts, including 3 threes. But the only other scorer to reach double figures was Ammon, who had 11 pts. Minor had 4 pts, 4 rebs and a team-high 5 asts, but finished 1-for-8 from the floor. And PG Mike Marcial, the MVP of last year's championship game, had 7 pts but just 1 assist. Overall, Fresno shot just 32% from the floor and had just 6 threes.
box score
Wednesday, January 2, 2008 - 7 pm
at Marauder Gym, Lancaster
Fresno Rams 70:
3-Aaron Hill, SG - 3/10 fg, 4/4 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 13 pts
10-Cory Billingsley, SF - 1/8 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 5 pts
14-Mike Marcial, PG - 3/6 fg, 0/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 1 pf, 7 pts
20-Kenya Edwards, C - 2/6 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 4 pf, 6 pts
32-Brian Minor, PF - 1/8 fg, 2/2 ft, 4 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 4 pts
2-Brandon Johnson, G - 2/10 fg, 2/4 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 pf, 6 pts
31-Marlon Burnett, F - 1/2 fg, 5 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl, 3 pf, 2 pts
1-Thomas Ammon, C - 5/7 fg, 1/3 ft, 3 reb, 1 pf, 11 pts
21-Russell Gregory, F - 3/6 fg, 4 reb, 2 pf, 7 pts
15-Sutan Burris, G - 1/6 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 4 pts
4-Donnell Fleming, G - 2/4 ft, 1 ast, 3 stl, 1 pf, 2 pts
33-Arte Williams, C - 1/3 fg, 1/2 ft, 5 reb, 1 blk, 3 pf, 3 pts
22-Aramis Phillips, F - 1 blk, 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 23/72 fg (.320), 18/27 ft (.667), 38 reb, 17 ast, 2 blk, 15 stl, 25 pf, 70 pts
3-pt fg (6): Hill 3, Billingsley, Marcial, Gregory
Intentional Foul: Johnson
Turnovers (27): Minor 7, Burnett 6, Marcial 4, Johnson 3, Phillips 2, Billingsley, Gregory, Burris, Fleming, Williams
Antelope Valley Marauders 93:
1-Durrell Norman, SF - 4/7 fg, 3/6 ft, 5 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 11 pts
10-Jovan McIver, SG - 4/6 fg, 2 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 11 pts
12-Jacobe Shannon, PG - 4/6 fg, 1/2 ft, 4 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl, 3 pf, 10 pts
21-Robert (Reggie) Arnold, PF - 10/21 fg, 8/13 ft, 9 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk, 3 stl, 3 pf, 30 pts
32-Mahamoud Diakite, C - 1/3 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 pf, 2 pts
22-JaVaughn Espritt, F - 4/6 fg, 0/2 ft, 12 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk, 5 stl, 3 pf, 8 pts
5-Jason West, F - 7/13 fg, 7/7 ft, 5 reb, 3 ast, 5 blk, 3 stl, 3 pf, 21 pts
34-Jerome Moten, C - 7 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 0 pts
2-Chevy Wade, G - 0 pts
3-Jonathan Love, G - 2 pf, 0 pts
4-Zachary Moore, F - 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 34/62 fg (.548), 19/30 fg (.633), 49 reb, 27 ats, 11 blk, 18 stl, 22 pf, 93 pts
3-pt fg (6): McIver 3, Arnold 2, Shannon
Turnovers (33): McIver 7, Shannon 7, Arnold 7, Norman 2, Espritt 2, West 2, Moten 2, Love 2, Wade, team
Halftime Score: Antelope Valley 43, Fresno 29
Updated Records: Antelope Valley (#8-South, #14-Calif) 14-6; Fresno (#4-North, #9-Calif) 18-4
AVC began the 2nd half on a 27-6 run to break it open
