There's a new #1 in the North as host College of the Sequoias (20-1) avenged their only defeat of the season with a resounding 98-83 victory over Fresno (21-2) in Visalia. The Giants shot 63% from the floor as they repeatedly broke Fresno's vaunted pressure and got easy baskets.
SG Ted Fletcher led the way with 19 pts, but this was a team effort as five Giants reached double figures in scoring and all 9 players for COS were productive. PG Ja'Vance Coleman had a huge night with 14 pts, 8 rebs and 6 asts. SF Jamel Lewis added 15 pts and 6 asts, while PF Dan Apolinario had 9 pts and 7 boards. SG Robert Powell came off the bench to add 17 pts, 4 asts and 3 steals. And on a night when Ctr Matt Misko battled foul trouble (but managed 6 pts and 3 rebs), his brother David helped out with 11 pts and 3 rebs as his backup. What's more, D. Misko's 11 pts outscored the entire Fresno bench.
Things were fairly even in a foul-filled first half. Fresno jumped out to a 19-12 lead early on the strength of 10 pts by PG Tyrone Jackson, but moments later Jackson picked up his second foul and had to sit down. That allowed COS to rally, and they pulled to within a point at 20-19 on a pair of free throws and a basket by Powell. By the time the game was 7 minutes old, both teams were out of fouls, and several players on each team had some foul trouble. The lead see-sawed after that as COS went ahead on threes by Powell, Coleman and Fletcher only to see Fresno rally, mostly on free throws, each time. Then SG Jason Walberg hit a 30-foot three to give Fresno a 34-33 lead with a couple minutes left in the first half.
Little did anyone know, that would be Fresno's last lead. And moments later COS broke a 36-36 tie on a three by Fletcher followed by a putback basket by PF Jon Folonis to take a 41-36 advantage. Chad Thornton-King scored on a putback with 2 seconds left in the half to make it Sequoias 41, Fresno 38 at the break. Each team had reason for optimism at that point: COS had shot a sizzling 59% in the first half and held a narrow lead, while Fresno had survived much of the first half with Jackson on the bench and still only trailed by 3 points.
As the second half started, COS extended its lead on baskets by Lewis and Apolinario to go ahead 45-38 in the early moments of the half. Then, following a basket by Walberg, Matt Misko scored on a layup and Fletcher converted a FG+FT 3-point play to make it 50-40 COS. Then PF Harry Holmes scored on a putback for Fresno, but Powell nailed a three and Misko scored another layup to extend the Giants' lead to 55-42. About the only negative for COS was when Powell picked up his 4th foul early in the half.
Fresno rallied several times, but couldn't overcome the deficit. A three by Walberg, 2 FTs by Jackson and a basket by Thornton-King got the Rams to within 8 at 57-49. But then a Coleman bucket and a FG+FT 3-point play by Apolinario restored COS' margin to 13. Then Walberg scored 10 pts to lead a 10-2 run to cut the margin to 64-59. But that's as close as Fresno would get. The Giants' lead stayed in single digits for several minutes, but was never less than 5, until Powell fed Coleman and Folonis for layups that made it 84-71 with 2:29 left.
From that point on, COS was in control. Fresno began fouling with 1:31 left, but COS made enough free throws down the stretch (14 of 19) to keep the Rams from cutting into the lead. Powell, who had sat down for just a couple of minutes after picking up his 4th foul (and re-entered with over 9 minutes left) made 5 of 6 FTs. And with each free throw, the partisan crowd got a little louder until the chants of "overrated" echoed through the gym, and the Giants had the win. By the time Jackson dribbled out the final seconds, the celebration had begun and there was a new #1-ranked team in the North.
Fresno lost despite a huge game from Walberg, who scored 34 pts including 7 threes. Jackson had a strong game as well with 24 pts, 6 rebs, 5 asts, 4 steals and a pair of blocks. But no other Ram scored more than 6 pts and the bench combined for just 10. And Fresno registered just 11 steals, far below their norm, and the lack of resulting easy baskets was reflected in their 37.5 FG%. Plus, COS was able to break the press throughout the game, and actually shot even better (67%) in the second half than in the first half.
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Saturday, January 31, 2004 - 7 pm
at College of the Sequoias, Visalia
Fresno City Rams 83:
11-Adam Wall, SG - 2/11 fg, 2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 6 pts
12-Jason Walberg, SF - 10/22 fg, 7/8 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 34 pts
22-Sal Espinoza, PF - 2/2 fg, 2 reb, 4 ast, 5 pts
31-David Lange, C - 1/2 fg, 2/7 ft, 1 reb, 4 pts
33-Tyrone Jackson, PG - 8/22 fg, 5/5 ft, 6 reb, 5 ast, 2 blk, 4 stl, 24 pts
1-Chad Thornton-King, F - 3/4 fg, 0/2 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 6 pts
3-Harry Holmes, F - 1/4 fg, 3 reb, 1 stl, 2 pts
23-Jon Black, G - 0/4 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 pts
21-Andrew Awad, F - 1 reb, 0 pts
10-Mike McCrary, C - 0 pts
34-Lesego Molebatsi, C - 0/1 fg, 4 reb, 1 ast, 0 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 27/72 fg (.375), 16/24 ft (.667), 35 reb, 16 ast, 2 blk, 11 stl, 83 pts
3-pt fg (13): Walberg 7, Jackson 3, Wall 2, Espinoza
Turnovers (19): Walberg 8, Jackson 6, Wall 2, Holmes, Black, team
College of the Sequoias Giants 98:
00-Ja'Vance Coleman, PG - 5/9 fg, 2/2 ft, 8 reb, 6 ast, 2 blk, 14 pts
3-Ted Fletcher, SG - 6/8 fg, 5/7 ft, 1 reb, 3 ast, 19 pts
2-Jamel Lewis, SF - 6/11 fg, 3/8 ft, 4 reb, 6 ast, 15 pts
20-Dan Apolinario, PF - 4/5 fg, 1/1 ft, 7 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 9 pts
50-Matt Misko, C - 3/34 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 6 pts
12-Robert Powell, G - 4/8 fg, 7/9 ft, 2 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl, 17 pts
15-Pablo Dresie, F - 0/2 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 0 pts
42-Jon Folonis, F - 3/4 fg, 6 reb, 7 pts
30-David Misko, C - 5/6 fg, 1/3 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 11 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 36/57 fg (.632), 19/30 ft (.633), 40 reb, 25 ast, 5 blk, 6 stl, 98 pts
3-pt fg (7): Coleman 2, Fletcher 2, Powell 2, Folonis
Tech Foul: Apolinario
Turnovers (24): Coleman 8, Fletcher 3, Apolinario 3, Lewis 2, Powell 2, Dresie 2, M.Misko, Folonis, team 2
Halftime Score: COS 41, FCC 38
Updated Records: COS 21-2, COS 20-1
