SG Kristien Owens banked home a 25-foot 3-pointer from behind the left elbow with 1.2 seconds left to lift #13 Long Beach to a dramatic 78-75 win over #6 Pasadena Friday night at the LBCC Hall of Champions.
Owens had given Long Beach (15-7, 7-1) a 74-72 lead with a shorter jumper with 55 seconds left, only to see Pasadena rally to tie the score on a driving lay-up by PF Taj Spencer with 16 seconds left. But that allowed Long Beach to hold onto the ball for a final shot to avoid overtime.
Owens launched his final shot from well beyond the 3-point line, and from behind it was apparent right away that the shot was well left of the rim. But it hit the backboard squarely and swished right through the net, setting off a wild celebration on the LBCC sideline. Coach Barry Barnes alertly called timeout so the Vikings would not be penalized for players running onto the court.
Pasadena (17-7, 5-3) had one last chance to tie the game, but SG Brandon Joseph's desperation heave at the buzzer was far off the mark, not even within range of hitting the backboard.
That was the final chapter of a game that was incredibly close pretty much all the way. Long Beach took an early 17-8 lead as Pasadena missed 9 of its first 10 field goal attempts, but the Lancers rallied to tie the score at 23 and take a 26-25 lead on a 3-pointer by SG Adrian Miles with just under 6 minutes left in the first half.
Long Beach went right back in front on a free throw by Owens, and led, 32-27, after a 3-pointer by PG Andre Springer. But Pasadena rallied to tie the score at 38 with just under a minute left in the first half, and neither team would lead by more than 3 points the rest of the game.
Long Beach led, 42-40, at the half, but Pasadena wiped out that deficit early in the second half on a fast break basket by Ctr Faruk Oyalade. And the score remained incredibly close - within two points - well into the second half.
PG Brandon Staton scored on a putback to break a 63-63 tie for Long Beach, and SG Carlos Sanchez made a long 2-pt jumper from the left baseline to make it 67-63, prompting a timeout by Pasadena coach Mike Swanegan with 6:34 to play. On the restart, Spencer scored just before the shot clock expired, Miles hit a 3-pointer and Spencer made 2 free throws with 4:25 left for a 7-0 run that gave Pasadena a 70-67 lead.
Sanchez was fouled trying a 3-point shot with 4:06 left and made all 3 free throws to tie the score at 70, and neither team led by more than two points the rest of the way until Owens found the sweet spot on the glass to bank home the winning shot.
Staton led Long Beach with team-highs of 16 pts and 5 rebs, plus 8 rebs. SF Elijah Gaines had 14 pts and Owens came off the bench for 12. PF Chris Spencer had 9 pts and 8 rebs. Springer also had 9 pts, and Sanchez had 8.
For Pasadena, Spencer posted game-highs of 22 pts and 10 rebs, and also had 3 asts and 2 steals. PG Jeffrey Dockett had 15 pts, a game-high 8 asts and 2 steals. PF Bryce Clifton came off the bench for 10 pts and Miles came off the bench for 9 on 3 three-pointers.
box score
Friday, January 31, 2014 - 7:30 pm
at the LBCC Hall of Champions, Long Beach
South Coast Conference
Pasadena Lancers 75:
12-Jeffrey Dockett, PG - 6/13 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 8 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 15 pts
23-Jonathan Henderson, SF - 1/4 fg, 5 reb, 1 ast, 3 pf, 2 pts
24-Taj Spencer, PF - 9/16 fg, 4/6 ft, 10 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 2 pf, 22 pts
32-Faruk Oyalade, C - 2/4 fg, 2/4 ft, 1 reb, 1 blk, 4 pf, 6 pts
40-Jevon Shields, SG - 2/6 fg, 1 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 4 pts
14-Brandon Joseph, G - 0/3 fg, 0/1 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 4 pf, 0 pts
00-Bryce Clifton, F - 3/3 fg, 4/6 ft, 3 reb, 2 stl, 2 pf, 10 pts
22-Adrian Miles, G - 3/5 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 9 pts
21-Rashad Smith, F - 3/5 fg, 1/3 ft, 3 reb, 4 ast, 4 pf, 7 pts
42-Marsalis Ellison, G - 0 pts
team rebounds: 9
Totals: 29/59 fg (.492), 13/22 ft (.591), 38 reb, 21 ast, 2 blk, 8 stl, 27 pf, 75 pts
3-pt fg (4): Miles 3, Dockett
Turnovers (20): Spencer 5, Dockett 4, Smith 4, Shields 3, Henderson, Oyalade, Joseph, Miles
Long Beach Vikings 78:
3-Elijah Gaines, SF - 5/12 fg, 2/3 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 14 pts
5-Carlos Sanchez, SG - 2/6 fg, 4/5 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 pf, 8 pts
21-Brandon Staton, PG - 6/16 fg, 3/4 ft, 8 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 4 pf, 16 pts
23-Mwelu Mataya, C - 1/5 fg, 1/2 ft, 9 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 5 pf, 3 pts
42-Ryan Stewart, PF - 0/3 fg, 5/8 ft, 4 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 3 pf, 5 pts
11-Chris Spencer, F - 3/12 fg, 3/4 ft, 8 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 9 pts
4-Andre Springer, G - 2/2 fg, 3/5 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 9 pts
32-Kristien Owens, G - 5/10 fg, 1/3 ft, 1 reb, 1 stl, 1 pf, 12 pts
50-Avery Hamilton, C - 1/2 fg, 0/2 ft, 3 reb, 1 pf, 2 pts
15-Manny Correa, F - 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 25/68 fg (.368), 22/36 ft (.611), 44 reb, 11 ast, 5 blk, 8 stl, 21 pf, 78 pts
3-pt fg (6): Gaines 2, Springer 2, Staton, Owens
Fouled Out: Mataya 35.1 seconds left
Turnovers (16): Gaines 4, Staton 4, Mataya 2, Stewart 2, Spencer 2, Owens, Hamilton
Halftime Score: Long Beach 42, Pasadena 40
Updated Records: Long Beach (#13-South) 15-7, 7-1 in SCC; Pasadena (#6-South, #15-Calif) 17-7, 5-3 in SCC
LBCC led 17-8 as PCC missed 9 of its 1st 10 shots; PCC tied it at 23 and led 26-25.
Neither team led by more than 4 points the entire 2nd half.
Owens' bank-shot 3-pointer from behind the left elbow with 1.2 secs left won it for LBCC.
