A showdown between the top teams in the South Coast Conference Northern Division turned out to be a mismatch as LA City (20-2, 4-0 in SCC-N) dominated the host Lancers (18-6, 4-1) January 30th in a battle for first place.
Ctr Tony Key dominated inside with 22 pts and 11 rebs, but there were a number of standouts for LACC. SF Kareem Grant added 15 pts and 7 rebs. SG Wayne Arnold had 14 pts (4 threes) and 8 boards, and PF Ismael N'Diaye added 12 pts and 7 rebs. PG Solomon Brown had 8 pts and a game-high 6 asts. SG Anthony Davis came off the bench to add 8 pts, 10 rebs and 5 asts.
It was an overwhelming performance by the defending State Champs. The LACC defense held Pasadena to a measly 29% from the floor, and the Cubs outrebounded Pasadena by an astounding margin of 40 (64-24) while shooting 57% from the field. And LACC scored more points in the second half (60) than Pasadena managed all night (57). About the only negative stat was their 32 turnovers, but many of those came in the frontcourt and obviously didn't lead to very many Pasadena points.
Brown opened the scoring on a running layup about 2 minutes into the game to give LACC a 2-0 lead. PCC's SF Thomas Scott answered back with a basket to tie the game moments later, and then stole a pass on LACC's next possession. Scott then threw a long pass to SG Terrell Stovall, who went in for the layup to give the Lancers a 4-2 lead about 2-1/2 minutes into the game.
From that point on, it was all L.A. City. By the time the game was 5 minutes old, LACC held a 13-4 lead and all 5 Cub starters had scored. Then came a bucket by N'Diaye followed by a three from Davis, and a 2-pt jumper by Davis, to make it 20-4. Pasadena finally broke the drought on a hook shot from Ctr Mark Dawson with 10:05 left in the half. But LACC kept scoring, pushing the lead to 20 on a free throw by N'Diaye that made it 26-6 with 7:23 left before halftime.
Pasadena rallied a little on a turnaround jumper by SF Deon Marcus, followed by a steal and dunk by Marcus to make it 28-13. And later in the half, Stovall hit a pair of jumpers, including a three, to make it 36-20 at the half.
But things only got worse for Pasadena in the second half. A putback basket and a FG+FT 3-point play, all by Key, pushed the lead out to 21 at 41-20. Then a three by Arnold made it 44-20, and a basket by Grant made it 46-20. LA City led by at least 20 the rest of the way. Coach Mike Miller removed Key from the game with 7:34 left and the score 71-37, perhaps realizing that the only thing that could stop LACC at that point was a reprise of Key's Darryl Dawkins impression (i.e. ripping down the basket on a dunk, as he did Wednesday vs. LA Trade Tech).
Pasadena had few highlights, but Stovall led the Lancers in scoring with 16 pts. Scott added 13 pts. Dawson had 4 pts and a team-best 5 rebs before fouling out midway through the second half. Marcus came off the bench to add 9 pts.
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Friday, January 30, 2004 - 7:30 pm
at Hutto-Patterson Gym, Pasadena
South Coast Conference - North Division
L.A. City Cubs 96:
0-Kareem Grant, SF - 6/9 fg, 3/4 ft, 7 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl, 15 pts
10-Solomon Brown, PG - 3/7 fg, 2/4 ft, 1 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl, 8 pts
30-Ismael N'Diaye, PF - 4/5 fg, 4/5 ft, 7 reb, 4 ast, 12 pts
34-Wayne Arnold, SG - 4/10 fg, 2/2 ft, 8 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 14 pts
50-Tony Key, C - 9/14 fg, 4/8 ft, 11 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 22 pts
21-Nashid Beard, C - 0/3 fg, 3/4 ft, 4 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 pts
41-Anthony Davis, G - 2/3 fg, 3/4 ft, 10 reb, 5 ast, 8 pts
13-Montelle Williams, F - 2/2 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 6 pts
22-Kenny Harris, F - 3/4 fg, 6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 6 pts
20-Rodney Williams, G - 0/1 fg, 1 blk, 0 pts
11-Darryl Harris, G - 2/4 ft, 1 reb, 1 stl, 2 pts
team rebounds: 7
Totals: 33/58 fg (.569), 24/37 ft (.649), 64 reb, 25 ast, 5 blk, 8 stl, 96 pts
3-pt fg (6): Arnold 4, Davis, M.Williams
Turnovers (32): Brown 9, Davis 5, Beard 4, N'Diaye 3, Arnold 3, K.Harris 3, Key 2, M.Williams, R.Williams, D.Harris
Pasadena Lancers 57:
20-Corey McIntosh, PG - 2/9 fg, 2 reb, 1 stl, 4 pts
33-Israel Miller, PF - 0/5 fg, 4 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 0 pts
34-Terrell Stovall, SG - 5/13 fg, 4/7 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 16 pts
40-Thomas Scott, SF - 4/12 fg, 4/5 ft, 4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 13 pts
42-Mark Dawson, C - 2/11 fg, 0/1 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 4 pts
54-Simon Coetzee, C - 0 pts
30-Garrett Pickens, G - 1/5 fg, 1/2 ft, 3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 4 pts
10-Deon Marcus, F - 4/10 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 stl, 9 pts
22-Devon Thomas, F - 2/6 fg, 0/3 ft, 1 ast, 4 stl, 5 pts
13-Daniel Howard, C - 1/1 fg, 1 ast, 2 pts
14-Tony Lor, F - 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 21/72 fg (.292), 10/20 ft (.500), 24 reb, 11 ast, 3 blk, 13 stl, 57 pts
3-pt fg (5): Stovall 2, T.Scott, Pickens, Thomas
Tech Foul: Dawson
Fouled Out: Dawson 9:21 left, Stovall 48.0 left
Turnovers (16): McIntosh 4, Stovall 3, Dawson 3, Thomas 2, Miller, T.Scott, Pickens, Marcus
Halftime Score: LACC 36, PCC 20
Updated Records: LACC 20-2, 4-0 SCC-N; PCC 18-6, 4-1 SCC-N
