#15 LA Valley (9-6) used a 24-3 first-half run to take control en route to a 72-56 win over an injury-depleted #14 Irvine Valley squad Friday night in a non-conference game in Valley Glen.
LA Valley had 10 players score at least 4 points, and the Monarch defense held IVC to just 28% from the floor on the night.
Meanwhile, Irvine Valley had just 7 players available and was missing starting forwards Carlos Pinto (ankle) and Brandon Hucks (toe), who are recovering from minor injuries. Moreover, Ctr Matt Ballard left the game vs. LA Valley with an apparent sprained ankle with 16:35 remaining.
LA Valley overcame sluggish starts in each half in which the Monarchs failed to score in the first 4 minutes each time, but led virtually the last 35 minutes of the game.
To begin the game, neither team scored until M. Ballard made a pair of free throws for Irvine Valley 4:02 into the match. Then PG Travis Ballard scored after a steal by SF Jeff Ledbetter to make it 4-0. LA Valley responded quickly with a 3-pointer by SF Nate Bichara and a lay-up by PG Tyief Thompson to go ahead, 5-4. A 3-pointer by Ledbetter put Irvine Valley back in front, 7-5, moments later.
Then came the 24-3 run for LA Valley. A runner by Thompson tied the game, and a 3-pointer by SG Chris Horstman gave the Monarchs a 10-7 lead. A jumper by Horstman, two free throws by PF Sulaiman Sekamwa and a hook shot by Ctr Pierre Prince made it 16-7.
Then Irvine Valley got a putback basket from PF Kwame Alexander, but that just interrupted the LA Valley run rather than stopped it. Another three from Bichara made it 19-9. Then a short jumper by SF James Shipp and a three by PG Robert Brown made it 24-9. A basket by Ctr Curtis Leslie after a feed from SF Jerome Lowe made it 26-9.
Irvine Valley got a free throw from Matt Ballard to finally break into double figures with 8:27 left in the half, making it 26-10. But even then the run continued with a free throw and a lay-up by Leslie that made it 29-16 with just under 6 minutes left in the first half.
The Lasers cut the margin to 12 at the break on a 3-pointer by Ledbetter in the final seconds of the first half. And helped by another slow start to the half by LA Valley, Irvine Valley pulled within 8 points at 38-30 early in the second half.
But then Matt Ballard went down with the ankle injury, leaving Irvine Valley with just 6 players. And when Alexander went to the bench with his 4th foul with 12:54 left, that left the Lasers in a particularly precarious position.
And LA Valley pulled away again. The lead was still just 8 points at 44-36 but then came a 10-0 spurt to finally clinch the victory. A purback basket by Prince, a short jumper by Bichara, a driving lay-up by Shipp and a pair of free throws by Lowe accounted for the first 8 points of the spurt, and also showed how this win was a true team effort. Finally, Shipp scored after a pass from Thompson to make it 54-36 with 8:35 left, ending any remaining doubt.
For LA Valley, Leslie and Bichara had 10 points each; Leslie also had 6 rebounds and 6 blocked shots. Lowe and PF Curtis Holden each had 8 points; Lowe added a team-high 11 rebs and a game-high 7 asts. Horstman had 7 points while Prince and Thompson had 6 each; Thompson added 5 asts.
For Irvine Valley, Ledbetter led the way with a game-high 13 pts, including 3 threes, plus 4 asts and 4 steals. Alexander had a double-double despite the foul trouble with 10 pts and a game-high 17 rebs. PF Jon Reed also had 10 pts.
box score
Friday, January 2, 2009 - 5 pm
at the Monarch Sports Pavilion, Valley Glen
Irvine Valley Lasers 56:
5-Jon Reed, PF - 4/15 fg, 2/4 ft, 5 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 1 pf, 10 pts
10-Travis Ballard, PG - 2/9 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 6 pts
22-Andrew Arnold, SG - 2/5 fg, 3 reb, 2 ast, 4 pf, 4 pts
23-Jeff Ledbetter, SF - 4/12 fg, 2/3 ft, 2 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl, 1 pf, 13 pts
32-Matt Ballard, C - 1/7 fg, 3/4 ft, 5 reb, 2 pf, 5 pts
4-Blake Touchard, G - 3/7 fg, 2/3 ft, 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 pf, 8 pts
24-Kwame Alexander, F - 3/12 fg, 4/7 ft, 17 reb, 4 pf, 10 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 19/67 fg (.283), 14/23 ft (.609), 39 reb, 10 ast, 1 blk, 6 stl, 16 pf, 56 pts
3-pt fg (4): Ledbetter 3, T.Ballard
Turnovers (12): Reed 5, Arnold 2, Touchard 2, T.Ballard, Ledbetter, M.Ballard
LA Valley Monarchs 72:
12-Robert Brown, PG - 1/5 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 5 pts
23-Curtis Holden, PF - 3/4 fg, 4 reb, 2 ast, 3 pf, 8 pts
33-Chris Horstman, SG - 2/7 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 2 pf, 7 pts
35-Nate Bichara, SF - 4/6 fg, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 10 pts
40-Curtis Leslie, C - 4/6 fg, 2/3 ft, 6 reb, 6 blk, 1 pf, 10 pts
10-Tyief Thompson, G - 2/5 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 6 pts
22-Jerome Lowe, F - 4/5 fg, 11 reb, 7 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 8 pts
45-Sulaiman Sekamwa, F - 4/4 ft, 3 reb, 1 blk, 4 pf, 4 pts
32-Pierre Prince, C - 3/6 fg, 0/1 ft, 4 reb, 2 blk, 6 pts
21-James Shipp, F - 4/6 fg, 2 reb, 2 pf, 8 pts
3-Louis Vega, G - 0/2 fg, 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 27/52 fg (.519), 12/14 ft (.857), 38 reb, 19 ast, 10 blk, 4 stl, 22 pf, 72 pts
3-pt fg (6): Holden 2, Bichara 2, Brown, Horstman
Turnovers (19): Holden 3, Horstman 3, Lowe 3, Brown 2, Bichara 2, Leslie 2, Thompson, Sekamwa, Shipp, team
Halftime Score: LA Valley 38, Irvine Valley 26
Updated Records: LA Valley (#15-South) 9-6, Irvine Valley (#14-South) 10-9
LA Valley went on a 24-3 run in the first half to take control of the game and a 10-0 spurt in the second half to put it away
Irvine Valley was without starting forwards Brandon Hucks and Carlos Pinto (minor injuries) and lost M. Ballard to an ankle sprain with 16:35 left in the 2nd half.
