SF Alvin "Tiger" Wright scored 18 pts, and SG Oscar Velasquez came off the bench to score 16 as host Porterville (6-15, 2-3) edged Central Valley Conference rival West Hills (7-14, 2-2), 64-55, Wednesday night.
Porterville shot 54% from the floor in the second half, and Wright, who scored 15 of his 18 pts in the second half, and Velasquez, who scored 13 of his 16 in the second half, led the surge for the Pirates.
It was an odd game. Both teams were sluggish in a first half that literally took about half an hour to play. West Hills shot 30% from the floor and had 12 turnovers while Porterville shot 32% and had 13 turnovers. At the end of the half, West Hills held a 22-20 lead.
Part of the reason for West Hills' slow start might have been the unconventional starting lineup. About 4 minutes into the game, the Falcons subbed all five starters out. And of the 5 starters, only SF Jamal Ross saw significant playing time after that.
But in the second half, the play picked up quickly for both teams. Porterville quickly tied the score at 24 on a driving lay-up by SG Charles Burrell, who would leave the game moments later with an ankle injury.
West Hills went back in front on a 3-pointer by PG Jeremy LaGarde that made it 27-24. LaGarde had a very streaky game, missing his first four shots of the night, then making his next five, but finally missing 6 of his last 7.
West Hills pushed the lead ot 6 after a LaGarde jumper made it 35-29, and had a 38-32 lead before Porterville went on a 13-2 run to move in front. A 3-pointer by Velasquez made it 42-40, and a 3-pointer by SF Joe Rousan less than a minute later made it 45-40 with 9:20 left. Porterville's lead reached 7 at 50-43 when a Velasquez steal led to a basket by PG Courtney Manning with 8:10 remaining.
West Hills rallied, cutting the deficit to just a point at 52-51 after a putback basket by PF Rob Watsabaugh with just more than 3 minutes left. But that would be as close as the Falcons would get.
A pair of free throws by Velaquez made it 54-51, and a 3-pointer by Wright pushed Porterville's lead to 6 at 57-51. Then Wright threw down a thunderous jam on a fast break after a steal & outlet pass from Manning with 1:11 left, sealing the win for the Pirates.
For Porterville, Wright led the way with 18 pts and 7 rebs. Velasquez added his 16 pts and Rousan came off the bench to add 13. Manning came off the bench and had just 3 pts but dished out 11 asts in the win. The Pirates won despite the absence of leading scorer PF Keith Viliamu.
For West Hills, LaGarde led the way with 17 pts and 5 asts. SG Josh Lopez had 15 pts and Ctr J.C. Lugo had 8 pts, 6 rebs and 3 blocked shots. Ross had 7 pts and 6 rebs, and was the only one of the original starters to score for West Hills
box score
Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - 7 pm
at Porterville College
Central Valley Conference
West Hills Falcons 55:
3-Jarrett Miller, SG - 0/4 fg, 0 pts
14-Alex Jaurqui, C - 1 stl, 1 pf, 0 pts
22-Allen Mkrtychyan, PF - 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 0 pts
24-Jamal Ross, SF - 3/8 fg, 1/2 ft, 6 reb, 1 ast, 3 pf, 7 pts
33-Juan Villaruel, PG - 1 ast, 0 pts
10-Jeremy LaGarde, G - 6/16 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 4 pf, 17 pts
12-Josh Lopez, SG - 6/13 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 15 pts
30-Rob Watsabaugh, PF - 3/8 fg, 7 reb, 1 stl, 5 pf, 6 pts
32-J.C. Lugo, C - 4/6 fg, 0/1 ft, 6 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk, 1 pf, 8 pts
52-Brett Arce, F - 1/3 fg, 5 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 2 pts
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 23/59 fg (.390), 5/7 ft (.714), 36 reb, 13 ast, 5 blk, 10 stl, 14 pf, 55 pts
3-pt fg (4): LaGarde 3, Lopez
Fouled Out: Watsabaugh
Turnovers (25): LaGarde 7, Lopez 7, Ross 4, Watsabaugh 3, Jaurequi, Mkrtychyan, Lugo, team
Porterville Pirates 64:
21-Alvin "Tiger" Wright, SF - 6/8 fg, 5/9 ft, 7 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 1 pf, 18 pts
24-Charles Burrell, SG - 1/4 fg, 1 ast, 1 pf, 2 pts
34-Troy Denton, PG - 1/3 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 pts
40-Ryan Davis, PF - 2/9 fg, 0/2 ft, 7 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 2 pf, 4 pts
54-Nate Brown, C - 3/8 fg, 7 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 1 pf, 6 pts
10-Courtney Manning, G - 1/3 fg, 1/2 ft, 4 reb, 11 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 1 pf, 3 pts
31-Oscar Velasquez, G - 4/5 fg, 5/6 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 pf, 16 pts
44-Mose Atuatasi, C - 0/2 fg, 1 reb, 3 pf, 0 pts
22-Johnny Gonzalez, G - 0/2 fg, 1 stl, 0 pts
32-Joe Rousan, F - 4/5 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 13 pts
33-Jabbarri Green, F - 0/2 fg, 0/1 ft, 1 reb, 2 ast, 0 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 22/51 fg (.431), 13/22 ft (.591), 35 reb, 19 ast, 5 blk, 10 stl, 10 pf, 64 pts
3-pt fg (7): Velasquez 3, Rousan 3, Wright
Turnovers (22): Wright 4, Denton 4, Brown 3, Rousan 3, Davis 2, Manning 2, Atuatasi 2, Burrell, Velasquez
Halftime Score: West Hills 22, Porterville 20
Updated Records: Porterville 6-15 overall, 2-3 in CVC; West Hills 7-14 overall, 2-2 in CVC
