PG Jamie Trujeque and SG Jason Pruitt scored 19 points each, and SF Kendale Nation came off the bench for 17, all in the second half, as LA Trade Tech edged host LA Valley, 87-75, Friday evening in Valley Glen.
Trade Tech (3-10) took a 52-50 lead on a 3-pointer by Nation midway through the second half, and led the rest of the way. Valley (3-10) got within nine points at 82-73 with 1:37 left, but Trade Tech made 5 out of 6 free throws after that to stay in control of the game.
Valley started the game by jumping out to a 7-0 lead in the first three minutes. But Trade Tech rallied quickly, taking a 12-11 lead with 13:12 left in the first half. The lead went back and forth for the next few minutes, with Valley taking an 18-17 lead with 10:06 left in the first half.
Then Pruitt led a quick 9-0 run that saw Trade Tech take a 26-18 lead. First he made a 3-pointer to put the Beavers back in front. Then he scored off a pass from Nation to make it 22-18. Then came a driving lay-up to make it 24-18. Finally he passed to SF Gregory Pate for a basket to make it 26-18.
Trade Tech stretched its lead to eight points at 37-29 with 2:03 left in the first half, and to ten on two free throws by Trujeque with 1:34 left before the break. Valley got a 3-pointer from PG Lance Bailey to briefly cut the Trade Tech lead to seven, but Trujeque answered with a 3-pointer to make it 42-32 at the break.
Valley quickly chipped away at the Trade Tech lead when the second half started, cutting the deficit to three points on a short jumper by SG Andrew Estes. Single free throws by Ctr Nathaniel Boykin and SF Eddie La Torre, followed by a lay-up by Boykin after a steal by Bailey, gave Valley 45-44 lead. After Trujeque made a free throw for Trade Tech to tie it at 45, PF Alex Smith scored to put Valley back in front, 47-45. Trade Tech went back in front, 49-48, on a 3-point play by Nation with 13:29 left, but Valley re-took the lead when Estes scored on a putback to put the Monarchs ahead, 50-49.
Then Trade Tech went back in front for good with a 6-0 spurt started by Nation's 3-pointer. SF Ricky Johnson made it 53-50 with a free throw with 11:41 left, and Nation hit a jumper to make it 55-50.
Trade Tech stretched its lead further as the clock wound down. Two free throws by PG Bryant Sears made it 63-56 with 8:36 left. Then after Trujeque stole an inbounds pass, he was fouled and made two free throws to make it 65-56 with 8:02 remaining.
Valley got within five points at 65-60 after baskets by Bailey and Smith, but then Trade Tech went on a 10-0 run to take control of the game. A reverse lay-up by Pruitt pushed the margin to double digits at 71-60, and then Pruitt scored on a runner to make it 73-60. Two free throws by Pate with 5:01 left made it 75-60.
Valley got 3-pointers from Estes and SG Ginno Soliman and three free throws from Soliman to get within nine points at 82-73 with 1:37 left. But then Nation split two free throws, and Pruitt and Johnson made two free throws apiece to make it 87-73 and clinch the win for Trade Tech.
For Trade Tech, Trujeque had 19 pts, 7 rebs, 3 asts, 3 steals and a blocked shot. Pruitt also had 19 pts, and added 4 asts. Nation came off the bench for 17 pts, all in the second half, and 4 asts, all in the first half. Sears chipped in with 11 pts. Ctr Jordan Watson had just 2 pts as he battled foul trouble, but he ended up with a game-high 9 rebs.
For Valley, Smith led all scorers with 26 pts, including 16 in the first half when he scored half of the Monarchs' points. Estes had 14 pts, including 13 in the second half. Soliman had 10 pts. Bailey had 9 pts and dished out a game-high 10 asts.
box score
Friday, January 4, 2013 - 5 pm
at the Monarch Sports Pavilion, Valley Glen
LA Trade Tech Beavers 87:
1-Jason Pruitt, SG - 7/16 fg, 4/6 ft, 4 ast, 2 pf, 19 pts
2-Chris Thompson, PF - 0/6 fg, 1/2 ft, 4 reb, 1 stl, 1 pf, 1 pt
20-Jordan Watson, C - 1/4 fg, 9 reb, 1 ast, 4 pf, 2 pts
21-Jamie Trujeque, PG - 5/8 fg, 8/11 ft, 7 reb, 3 st, 1 blk, 3 stl, 2 pf, 19 pts
23-Olajuwon Anderson, SF - 0/2 fg, 3 reb, 1 pf, 0 pts
32-Warren Phillips, F - 2/4 fg, 3 reb, 1 blk, 4 pts
4-Ricky Johnson, F - 2/4 fg, 3/4 ft, 4 reb, 1 stl, 2 pf, 7 pts
5-Bryant Sears, G - 2/4 fg, 6/6 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 5 pf, 11 pts
24-Kendale Nation, F - 5/8 fg, 5/7 ft, 1 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl, 2 pf, 17 pts
13-Gregory Pate, F - 2/4 fg, 3/4 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 3 pf, 7 pts
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 26/60 fg (.433), 30/40 ft (.750), 43 reb, 15 ast, 2 blk, 10 stl, 22 pf, 87 pts
3-pt fg (5): Nation 2, Pruitt, Trujeque, Sears
Fouled Out: Sears 1:37 left
Turnovers (16): Thompson 4, Trujeque 4, Anderson 3, Pruitt 2, Phillips, Nation, team
LA Valley Monarchs 75:
5-Alex Smith, PF - 11/21 fg, 2/4 ft, 7 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 26 pts
14-Eddie La Torre, SF - 1/3 fg, 5/8 ft, 8 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk, 3 stl, 5 pf, 7 pts
15-Nathaniel Boykin, C - 3/7 fg, 1/2 ft, 7 reb, 1 ast, 4 pf, 7 pts
20-Lance Bailey, PG - 4/7 fg, 0/4 ft, 3 reb, 10 ast, 3 stl, 4 pf, 9 pts
30-Andrew Estes, SG - 5/17 fg, 2/5 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 14 pts
12-Travon White, G - 0/1 fg, 2 reb, 2 ast, 2 pf, 0 pts
35-Christian Boyer, C - 1/5 fg, 8 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 2 pts
32-Ginno Soliman, G - 2/11 fg, 5/5 ft, 3 reb, 1 stl, 4 pf, 10 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 27/72 fg (.375), 15/28 ft (.536), 48 reb, 21 ast, 3 blk, 10 stl, 25 pf, 75 pts
3-pt fg (6): Smith 2, Estes 2, Bailey, Soliman
Technical Foul: Smith
Fouled Out: La Torre 1:11 left
Turnovers (19): Boyer 5, White 4, Soliman 3, La Torre 2, Boykin 2, Smith, Bailey, Estes
Halftime Score: LA Trade Tech 42, LA Valley 32
Updated Records: LA Trade Tech 3-10, LA Valley 3-10
Trade Tech went on a 9-0 run to lead 26-18 in the 1st half. Valley rallied to take a 45-44 lead and also led 50-49 in the 2nd half. Trade Tech went back in front 55-50 and led the rest of the way.
