PF Zach Hinton had a double-double with 16 pts and 10 rebs, and Ctr Aaron Cheatum converted a key 3-point play with 34.6 seconds left as #8 East LA edged #9 Pasadena, 65-61, Wednesday night in the SCC-North opener for both teams in Pasadena.
East LA (12-4, 1-0) trailed, 59-58, when Pasadena PF Taj Spencer tried a baseline jumper that missed. Cheatum grabbed the rebound and dribbled the length of the floor, scoring on a driving lay-up with 34.6 seconds remaining. He was also fouled on the game, and made the resulting free throw to make it 61-59, and ELAC led the rest of the way.
That was the pivotal play in a game that was close all the way, with neither team leading by more than 8 points at any point and neither team leading by more than 3 points until moments later when ELAC SF Te'Shon Burton made two pairs of free throws in the final 13.8 seconds to secure the win for the Huskies.
Pasadena (12-5, 0-1) used an early 9-0 run to wipe out a 7-4 deficit and take a 13-7 lead in the game's opening minutes. East LA scored the game's next 5 points to trim the margin to a single point at 13-12, but Pasadena continued to lead, and opened an 8-point advantage several times in the first half.
East LA stayed close, however, mainly by making 10 of 11 free throws in the first half and trailed by just two points at 33-31 at the break. That theme would continue through the second half, as East LA finished with 26 points from the line compared to just 6 for the host Lancers.
East LA tied the game in the opening seconds of the second half when Hinton scored on an inbounds play. After that, the lead went back and forth numerous times, with neither team able to build more than a 3-point lead at any point in the second half.
Pasadena broke a 58-all tie with a free throw by Ctr Faruk Oyalade with 1:15 left, and had the ball back with about 40 seconds left in the game. But then came Spencer's miss and Cheatum's 3-point play. After PG Jeffrey Dockett of Pasadena missed a 3-point try, Burton got the rebound, was foled and made two free throws for East LA with 13.8 seconds left to make it 63-59. Dockett scored on a driving lay-up for PCC with 8.3 seconds to go, but Burton made two more free throws with 6.2 seconds left to clinch the win for East LA.
Hinton led the Huskies with his 16 pts, and his 10 rebs were a game-high total. SG Marcus Romain came off the bench for 12 pts, 3 rebs, 5 asts and 2 steals, and PF Primitivo Gomez came off the bench for 10 pts. Cheatum had 8 pts, 5 rebs, 3 asts and 2 steals, saving his best play of the night for the most important moment of the game.
For Pasadena, Dockett led all scorers with his 18 pts, and added 5 rebs, 4 asts and 2 steals. But he was just 8-for-19 from the floor and had 9 turnovers. Spencer had 15 pts and 6 rebs before fouling out with 13.8 seconds left. Oyalade just missed a double-double with 8 pts and a team-high 9 rebs. PF Bryce Clifton had a strong game off the bench with 6 pts on 3-for-3 from the floor plus 7 rebs.
box score
Wednesday, January 8, 2014 - 5 pm
at Hutto-Patterson Gynmasium, Pasadena
SCC-North
East LA Huskies 65:
1-Je'Ron Primus, SG - 1/5 fg, 0/1 ft, 1 reb, 2 ast, 3 pf, 2 pts
10-Davian Wilson, PG - 1/4 fg, 2 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 3 pts
20-Aaron Cheatum, C - 3/7 fg, 2/3 ft, 5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 8 pts
24-Te'Shon Burton, SF - 0/7 fg, 7/8 ft, 6 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 7 pts
42-Zach Hinton, PF - 6/13 fg, 3/5 ft, 10 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 16 pts
33-Primitivo Gomez, F - 3/6 fg, 4/4 ft, 2 reb, 2 stl, 2 pf, 10 pts
3-Marcus Romain, G - 2/6 fg, 8/9 ft, 3 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 12 pts
2-Francisco Aguilar, G - 2/3 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 5 pts
5-Anthony Martinez, G - 0/2 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 0 pts
40-Guillermo Lopez, C - 0 pts
11-Denzel Council, F - 0/1 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 pf, 2 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 18/53 fg (.340), 26/32 ft (.813), 38 reb, 13 ast, 3 blk, 9 stl, 22 pf, 65 pts
3-pt fg (3): Wilson, Hinton, Aguilar
Turnovers (19): Romain 6, Wilson 5, Cheatum 3, Primus 2, Burton, Aguilar, Martinez
Pasadena Lancers 61:
12-Jeffrey Dockett, PG - 8/19 fg, 1/1 ft, 5 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 18 pts
14-Brandon Joseph, SG - 0/4 fg, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 0 pts
22-Adrian Miles, SF - 3/14 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 8 pts
24-Taj Spencer, PF - 6/14 fg, 3/6 ft, 6 reb, 1 stl, 5 pf, 15 pts
32-Faruk Oyalade, C - 3/5 fg, 2/6 ft, 9 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 pf, 8 pts
40-Jevon Shields, G - 1/2 fg, 2 ast, 1 pf, 2 pts
00-Bryce Clifton, F - 3/3 fg, 0/1 ft, 7 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 3 pf, 6 pts
21-Rashad Smith, F - 0/5 fg, 0/1 ft, 5 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 0 pts
23-Jonathan Henderson, F - 2/3 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 4 pf, 4 pts
team rebounds: 8
Totals: 26/69 fg (.377), 6/15 ft (.400), 47 reb, 16 ast, 3 blk, 5 stl, 24 pf, 61 pts
3-pt fg (3): Miles 2, Dockett
Flagrant Foul: Oyalade (FL-1)
Fouled Out: Spencer 13.8 seconds left
Turnovers (18): Dockett 9, Spencer 4, Clifton 3, Joseph, Oyalade
Halftime Score: Pasadena 33, East LA 31
Updated Records: East LA (#8-South, #17-Calif) 12-4, 1-0 in SCC-N; Pasadena (#9-South, #19-Calif) 12-5, 0-1 in SCC-N
Cheatum's 3-pt play with 34.6 seconds left gave ELAC a 61-59 lead.
Burton made 4 FTs in the last 13.8 seconds to clinch the win for ELAC.
