Ctr Chepe Lara, from nearby Santa Paula, had a successful homecoming Friday evening, totaling 17 pts, 9 rebs and 4 blocked shots to lead #10 (North) Sequoias (12-5) to an easy 80-55 win over host Moorpark (8-8).
Lara, a 6-8, 269-pounder headed to Cal State Bakersfield, was one of four Giants to score in double figures. SG Rocky DiAntonio also had 17 pts, including 5 threes, while PF Yunss Akinocho had 11 pts and SG Deanthony Holmes had 10. Ctr Anthony Jones also had a huge part in the win with 7 pts, a game-high 12 rebs and 6 asts.
With Jones keying the Giants’ break of the Moorpark press, the Giants shot 52% for the game, largely a result of getting lay-ups. And the Giants also had a considerable advantage inside, outrebounding the Raiders.
Moorpark took a 3-0 lead in the opening minute when PF Caise Burris drained a 3-pointer. But Sequoias scored the game’s next 11 points – three baskets by Holmes followed by two baskets, including a 3-pointer, by Akinocho – to take an 11-3 lead, and the Giants led the rest of the way.
A 3-pointer by PF Paul Wolf pushed the lead into double digits at 18-6. Then a loud dunk by Lara made it 20-6, and another basket by Lara, on a feed from Wolf, made it 22-6. Moorpark twice cut the margin to 10 points, but Sequoias pulled away to lead by as many as 20, at 41-21, late in the first half before settling for an 18-point advantage at 41-23 at the break.
When the second half began, Moorpark tried to cut into the Sequoias’ lead, cutting the margin to 15 after a putback basket by Ctr Silvio Arie-Lisboa on an “Iverson assist” (i.e. drawing the defense, then throwing a wild shot off the glass for a teammate to grab on the easy rebound) from SG Trevin Johnson, and getting to within 14 points at 54-40 after a 3-pointer by PG Dwight Jones. A few minutes later, Moorpark cut the Sequoias lead to 13 at 59-46.
But that was as close as the Raiders would get. The Giants then pushed the margin back to 20 on a driving lay-up by Jones that made it 70-50, and cruised the rest of the way to the win. Lara, with an enthusiastic group of local supporters cheering him on, scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half to help the Giants maintain the large lead.
Jones led Moorpark with 14 pts, 6 rebs and 3 steals. But the only other Raider to score in double figures was SG Curry McKinney, who had 10 pts. And the Raiders shot just 25% from the floor with only 3 threes. Making matters worse, SF Ian Walberg left the game with an apparent right knee injury late in the first half and did not return.
Box score
Friday, January 4, 2008 – 5 pm
At Moorpark College
Sequoias Giants 80:
2-Elvis Whitelow, SF – 2/3 fg, 2/6 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 4 pf, 6 pts
3-Showron Glover, PG – 0/2 fg, 2/3 ft, 4 reb, 8 ast, 3 stl, 1 pf, 2 pts
5-Deanthony Holmes, SG – 4/6 fg, 2/2 ft, 4 reb, 3 pf, 10 pts
22-Anthony Jones, C – 2/3 fg, 3/6 ft, 12 reb, 6 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 7 pts
23-Yunss Akinocho, PF – 5/9 fg, 0/2 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 pf, 11 pts
32-Chepe Lara, C – 7/11 fg, 3/4 ft, 9 reb, 2 ast, 4 blk, 4 pf, 17 pts
15-David James, F – 0/4 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 stl, 1 pt
13-Rocky DiAntonio, G – 6/10 fg, 0/1 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 17 pts
20-Jordan Reyes, G – 0/2 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 3 pf, 1 pt
42-Paul Wolf, F – 3/5 fg, 5 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 pf, 8 pts
00-Conrad Williams, G – 1 ast, 0 pts
25-Saeed Gaston, F – 0/1 fg, 0 pts
team rebounds: 8
Totals: 29/56 fg (.518), 14/28 ft (.500), 55 reb, 25 ast, 7 blk, 6 stl, 23 pf, 80 pts
3-pt fg (8): DiAntonio 5, Wolf 2, Akinocho
Technical Foul: DiAntonio
Turnovers (25): Glover 7, Akinocho 4, Whitelow 2, Holmes 2, DiAntonio 2, Wolf 2, Williams 2, Jones, Lara, James, team
Moorpark Raiders 55:
1-Dwight Jones, PG – 6/19 fg, 6 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 2 pf, 14 pts
5-Ian Walberg, SF – 0/1 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 pf, 1 pt
20-Caise Burris, PF – 2/10 fg, 2/4 ft, 2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 1 pf, 7 pts
23-Trevin Johnson, SG – 2/10 fg, 2 reb, 4 pf, 4 pts
33-Silvio Arie-Lisboa, C – 2/4 fg, 3/4 ft, 5 reb, 1 pf, 7 pts
3-Cameron Nash, G – 1 ast, 2 stl, 2 pf, 0 pts
4-Michael Rodgers, C – 2/6 fg, 1/2 ft, 7 reb, 1 blk, 5 pf, 5 pts
12-Curry McKinney, G – 3/12 fg, 4/6 ft, 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 10 pts
21-Kyle Elliott, F – 1/3 fg, 2 reb, 4 pf, 2 pts
32-Nick Noyer, F – 0/3 fg, 3/6 ft, 2 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl, 2 pf, 3 pts
15-Paul McCloney, F – 0/3 fg, 4 reb, 2 pf, 0 pts
34-Avi Kumar, C – 1/4 fg, 2 reb, 1 pf, 2 pts
team rebounds: 9
Totals: 19/75 fg (.253), 14/24 ft (.583), 43 reb, 7 ast, 3 blk, 10 stl, 27 pf, 55 pts
3-pt fg (3): Jones 2, Burris
Technical Foul: Johnson
Fouled Out: Rodgers 8:50 left
Turnovers (12): Burris 3, Jones 2, Walberg 2, Nash, McKinney, Noyer, McCloney, team
Halftime Score: Sequoias 41, Moorpark 23
Updated Records: Sequoias (#10-North, #20-Calif) 12-5, Moorpark 8-8
