SG Larry DeHughes had 28 pts, including 7 threes, and host Fullerton shot 56% from the floor, racing past a depleted Glendale squad, 99-68, Saturday night in the first round of the playoffs.
DeHughes also had 7 rebs, 4 asts, 2 blocks and a steal for the winners, who took the lead for good just after the midway point of the first half and ended up winning in a rout.
Glendale, down to 8 players, just 6 of which played regularly until this past week, started out well enough but gradually fell behind. And as the game wore on, the margin kept growing, reaching as high as 36 points before the final 31-point deficit.
But it might not have mattered if Glendale had come with its complete squad, considering the way Fullerton played. The Hornets made 42 of 75 shots on the night, including 10 threes, while holding Glendale to just 27% from the floor in an overpowering performance.
But from that point on, Fullerton dominated the game. A DeHughes 3-pointer moments later tied the game at 21 with 9:45 left in the half, and then a putback basket by Ctr Mike Cox put the Hornets ahead, 23-21. And Glendale never pulled even again.
In fact, the Vaqueros then fell further and further behind. It was still a 5-point game at 33-28 when Fullerton got a pair of baskets from SF Justin Carter and a jam from DeHughes after a steal & assist by PG Darrian McKinstry to push the lead into double figures at 39-28 with just under 4 minutes left.
The Fullerton lead reached as much as 15 at 45-30 late in the first half before a 4-point play by SG Markus Monroe pulled Glendale back to within 11 at 45-34. Then each team scored a basket in the late stages of the first half to make it 47-36 at the break.
But when the second half started, Fullerton quickly pulled away. Fullerton had a 12-point lead at 51-39 when McKinstry and Carter scored to push the margin to 16. A basket by Andrews pushed the lead beyond 20, making it 64-43. And the run continued, with McKinstry and DeHughes knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers to push the margin to 30 points at 75-45 with 10:40 left in the game. The lead eventually reached as much as 36 before the Hornets settled for the 31-point victory.
For Fullerton, DeHughes topped all scorers but there were three other scorers in double figures: Carter, who had his usual productive all-around game with 22 pts, 6 rebs, 4 asts, 2 steals and a block; SF Calise Patterson, who made 6 of 7 shots from the floor to finish with 13 pts; and Andrews, who chipped in with 10 pts. In addition, McKinstry had 9 pts, 8 asts, 5 rebs and 5 steals, and Cox had 8 pts, 8 rebs and 5 blocked shots.
For Glendale, Monroe and Ctr Curtis Leslie each scored 14 pts, and PF Kevin Dancer had a double-double with 11 pts and 10 rebs. But Monroe shot just 3-for-17 from the floor, and Dancer was 3-for-16. Thompson, who played most of the year at off-guard, managed 10 pts and 5 asts. He got the start in place of Jose Garcia, who missed the last portion of the season with a knee injury, and Lanval Gordon, who was away from the team to attend the birth of his child. In addition, Robert Valentine recently quit the team, leaving the Vaqueros severly depleted. SF Tulio Yamasita, the only member of the Vaquero bench who was part of the rotation a month ago, had 10 pts.
With the win, the second-seeded Hornets improve to 25-5 and will face Antelope Valley and former Fullerton coach Dieter Horton in the regional final next Saturday. Glendale, which defeated Compton in the mini-round, finishes 17-16.
box score
Saturday, March 1, 2008 - 7:30 pm
Glendale Vaqueros 68:
3-pt fg (5): Thompson 2, Monroe, Zargaryan, Yamasita
Fullerton Hornets 99:
3-pt fg (10): DeHughes 7, McKinstry, Andrews, Choi
Halftime Score: Fullerton 47, Glendale 36
Updated Records: Fullerton (#2 seed) 25-5, Glendale (#18 seed) 17-16
at Fullerton College
Playoffs - First Round
20-Tyief Thompson, PG - 3/6 fg, 2/2 ft, 5 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 10 pts
22-Markus Monroe, SG - 3/17 fg, 7/7 ft, 4 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 14 pts
32-Zareh Zargaryan, SF - 4/13 fg, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 pf, 9 pts
35-Kevin Dancer, PF - 3/16 fg, 5/5 ft, 10 reb, 3 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 11 pts
42-Curtis Leslie, C - 4/12 fg, 6/8 ft, 7 reb, 1 blk, 4 pf, 14 pts
10-Tyrell Hillman, G - 0/2 fg, 4 reb, 3 ast, 1 pf, 0 pts
30-Tulio Yamasita, F - 3/7 fg, 3/3 ft, 3 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 1 pf, 10 pts
44-Brian Baker, C - 0 pts
team rebounds: 9
Totals: 20/73 fg (.274), 23/25 ft (.920), 39 reb, 11 ast, 5 blk, 5 stl, 14 pf, 68 pts
Turnovers (17): Monroe 6, Zargaryan 4, Dancer 4, Thompson 2, Leslie
1-Justin Carter, SF - 10/18 fg, 2/2 ft, 6 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 1 pf, 22 pts
3-Darrian McKinstry, PG - 4/8 fg, 5 reb, 8 ast, 5 stl, 1 pf, 9 pts
5-Larry DeHughes, SG - 10/18 fg, 1/1 ft, 7 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 28 pts
24-Wayne Andrews, PF - 4/8 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 2 pf, 10 pts
32-Mike Cox, C - 4/6 fg, 8 reb, 1 ast, 5 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 8 pts
4-Calise Patterson, F - 6/7 fg, 1/3 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 13 pts
22-Warren Fuselier, G - 3/7 fg, 3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 6 pts
45-Mitch Burrell, C - 0/1 fg, 7 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 0 pts
25-Chris Russell, F - 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 1 pf, 0 pts
11-Michael Williams, G - 2 ast, 1 pf, 0 pts
10-Johnny Choi, G - 1/1 fg, 3 pts
team rebounds: 2
Totals: 42/75 fg (.560), 5/8 ft (.625), 46 reb, 25 ast, 8 blk, 12 stl, 19 pf, 99 pts
Turnovers (14): McKinstry 5, Carter 3, DeHughes, Andrews, Cox, Patterson, Russell, Williams
