It was a triumph of teamwork for the second-seeded Delta Mustangs (30-1) in their 74-62 win over College of the Desert (26-7) in the opening game of the state quarterfinals at Jenny Craig Pavilion on the campus of the University of San Diego. After COD jumped out to a 15-5 lead in the game’s first 7 minutes, Delta dominated the rest of the way. Seven different Mustangs scored at least 8 points and Delta played its usual stout defense, holding COD to 37% shooting and forcing 22 turnovers in the win.
Though PG Chris Walker and PF Kyle Huggett were excellent throughout the game, at several different points in the game it was a different Mustang who stepped up and took control of things for Delta. Walker finished with 14 pts, 5 asts and 5 steals, while Huggett posted a double-double with 12 pts and a game-high 12 rebs. But most of the key offensive sequences for Delta featured their teammates at the forefront.
In overcoming the early deficit, it was the outside shooting of reserve forwards Roman Moniak and Kevin Bland that did the damage. Bland made a pair of 2-point jumpers and a 3-point shot to cut the margin to 3, and Moniak sank a three to tie the game at 22. Then Bland made another three to give Delta a lead, and Moniak made another three to put the Mustangs ahead, 28-22. Neither PF Bland nor SF Moniak would score in the second half, but the Mustangs ended up carrying a 35-29 lead into the locker room at intermission as a result of their first-half marksman ship.
And besides, in the second half, there would be other teammates stepping up and scoring for Delta. When the second half started, neither SG Sam Kirby nor Ctr Kevin Hasenfus had scored a point. But that soon changed as Kirby scored on a spin move to push Delta’s lead to 37-29. COD SG Mike Lang answered for the Roadrunners with a jumper and a three, but then Hasenfus went to work. The big Center scored a pair of baskets to push the lead back to 7 at 41-34, then passed to Walker for a lay-up to push the lead to 9 at 45-36.
Hasenfus went to the bench moments later with his fourth foul of the game, and COD rallied behind Lang to cut the lead to 4 at 54-50. But then came Kirby’s hot streak. A three made it 59-52. COD PG Daniel Cruz answered with a three of his own, but then Kirby nailed another (2-point) jumper for Delta. A steal & lay-up by Walker made it 63-55, and then Kirby struck again with another three to push the lead to 11 at 66-55.
COD hung around, mainly behind the inside scoring of Ctr Earl Isaacson, and trailed by just 8 at 69-61 when Delta found yet another hero. SF Jared Cozad had drawn the fifth foul on COD PF Troy Beebe a few minutes earlier, pushing the Mustang lead to 12 at 69-57 before Isaacson had reduced the lead to 8. But then Cozad drew a foul and made a free throw to make it 70-61. And on the next trip down the floor, he did a spectacular up-and-under move, scoring to push the lead back into double-digits at 72-62. Another steal & basket by Walker pushed the lead to 74-62 with just over 3 minutes left. Neither team scored a point in those last 3 minutes. COD’s last reasonable chance to make a rally ended when Cozad grabbed a steal with 1:27 left, clinching the win for the Mustangs.
With the win, Delta pushes its record to 30-1, with its only loss coming to Diablo Valley early in December (and Delta won the rematch at their holiday tourney two weeks later). They will now face the top seed from the South, San Bernardino Valley, in the state semifinals.
Isaacson led COD with 20 pts and 10 rebs, and Lang added 14 pts but the Roadrunners were out of sync all day on offense. A big part of that was the defense of Delta, particularly Walker, and COD had trouble getting the ball in to Isaacson much of the day. SF Ruben Mitchell had a solid game with 8 pts, 6 rebs, 6 asts and 2 steals while Cruz added 10 pts for COD.
box score
Thursday, March 10, 2005 - 1 pm
at the Jenny Craig Pavilion, Univ. of San Diego
State Quarterfinal #1
College of the Desert Roadrunners 62:
3-Mike Lang, SG - 6/16 fg, 3 reb, 1 stl, 14 pts
32-Ruben Mitchell, SF - 2/4 fg, 2/4 ft, 8 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 6 pts
35-Daniel Cruz, PG - 2/8 fg, 4/4 ft, 2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 10 pts
42-Earl Isaacson, C - 7/14 fg, 6/6 ft, 10 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk, 20 pts
50-Troy Beebe, PF - 1/5 fg, 4 reb, 3 ast, 2 pts
22-Nick Quick, G - 1/7 fg, 3 pts
4-Walter Carr, G - 3/5 fg, 1/2 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 7 pts
20-Princeton Joshway, F - 0 pts
55-Terrence Wentz, C - 1 reb, 0 pts
team rebounds: 10
Totals: 22/59 fg (.373), 13/16 ft (.813), 43 reb, 15 ast, 3 blk, 5 stl, 62 pts
3-pt fg (5): Lang 2, Cruz 2, Quick
Fouled Out: Beebe 6:25 left
Turnovers (22): Lang 6, Carr 5, Mitchell 4, Cruz 3, Quick 2, Isaacson, team
San Joaquin Delta Mustangs 74:
5-Jared Cozad, SF - 2/9 fg, 4/6 ft, 7 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 8 pts
11-Chris Walker, PG - 7/11 fg, 0/5 ft, 3 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 5 stl, 14 pts
13-Sam Kirby, SG - 6/13 fg, 4 reb, 2 stl, 14 pts
22-Kevin Hasenfus, C - 3/6 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 8 pts
23-Kyle Huggett, PF - 3/10 fg, 5/9 ft, 12 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 12 pts
20-Roman Moniak, F - 3/12 fg, 8 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 8 pts
24-Ajay Riding, G - 1 reb, 1 ast, 0 pts
21-John Meath, C - 2 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 0 pts
25-Kevin Bland, F - 4/7 fg, 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 10 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 28/68 fg (.412), 11/22 ft (.500), 42 reb, 15 ast, 6 blk, 15 stl, 74 pts
3-pt fg (7): Kirby 2, Moniak 2, Bland 2, Huggett
Turnovers (12): Walker 3, Huggett 3, Hasenfus 2, Moniak 2, Riding, Bland
Halftime Score: Delta 35, Desert 29
Updated Records: Delta 30-1, Desert 26-7
