LA Southwest, behind Michael Ford's 51 pts, topped Antelope Valley in a 99-95 OT thriller to capture the Condor Classic at Oxnard. The 51 pts is a new Condor Classic record, and Ford was named the tourney's MVP.
Southwest overcame a 16-point deficit early in the second half, largely as a result of Ford, and took a 2-point lead into the final seconds of regulation before AVC tied it on a basket by Ctr Jonathan Holland with 4 seconds left. But Ford scored 7 pts in OT, and Holland was among 3 Marauders who fouled out during the extra session.
There was a lot of cat-and-mouse in this game, as AVC assigned SG Ollie Bradley to shadow Ford whenever LASW had the ball. Conversely, Southwest had Ford hound AVC's star PG Mike Webb (who had 11 threes and 36 pts vs. Ventura in the semifinal). So for most of the game, either Darius Davis or Cedric Smith handled the point for the Cougars, while Ford did all he could to break free of Bradley.
But whenever Ford found some room to operate, he scored points. On the day he finished 16/25 from the floor (with 8 threes) and 11/15 from the line. He also found time to register 3 rebs, 3 asts and 5 steals.
AVC survived most of the first half without Holland, who picked up his 3rd foul just 6:36 into the game. But thanks to Webb and SF Wendell White, the Marauders led at the break, 43-39. And when Holland returned for the second half, he led a 10-0 run to help AVC open a lead that soon grew to 16 pts at 63-47.
Then came the Southwest comeback. SF Jason Perry scored to start things, and by the 8-1/2 minute mark LASW had closed the gap to 6 at 68-62. A three by Dominique Willis finally tied the game for LASW at 79 with 1:20 to play. AVC got a layup from Wendell White to go ahead 81-79 just 5 seconds later, but that was their final lead. A basket by Othyus Jeffers tied it with 45 secs left, and when AVC bungled the ensuing inbounds play, LASW got the ball back. A Jeffers feed to Perry gave the Cougars an 83-81 lead with just 18 seconds left. But AVC's Webb got the ball to Holland at the front of the rim for a lay-in to make it 83-83 and send it to OT.
Southwest led the entire overtime, and 4 FTs by Ford in the final minute or so helped seal the win. Ford was joined on the all-tournament team by Jeffers, who contributed 13 pts and 5 rebs despite being limited by a hip injury. SF Perry had a stong game with 16 pts and 13 rebs. Davis racked up 11 asts, mostly by finding the hot Ford and getting him the ball.
For AVC, Wendell White had a spectacular game with 31 pts and 10 rebs. Webb, who was also named to the all-tourney team, had 18 pts (4 threes) and 9 asts. Bradley had 17 pts and 6 rebs, while PF Walter White had 8 pts, 11 rebs and 6 asts. Holland finished with 15 pts and 7 rebs despite being dogged by foul trouble pretty much the whole game.
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Sunday, November 30, 2003 - 5 pm
Condor Classic @ Oxnard College - Championship Game
Antelope Valley Marauders 95:
11-Ollie Bradley, SG - 6/12 fg, 2/2 ft, 6 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 17 pts
22-Mike Webb, PG - 6/16 fg, 2/3 ft, 3 reb, 9 ast, 3 stl, 18 pts
32-Walter White, PF - 2/9 fg, 4/6 ft, 11 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl, 8 pts
34-Jonathan Holland, C - 6/8 fg, 3/4 ft, 7 reb, 1 ast, 15 pts
41-Wendell White, SF - 13/29 fg, 3/4 ft, 10 reb, 1 blk, 3 stl, 31 pts
23-Glenn Gilliard, F - 3/4 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 6 pts
3-Jason Chambers, G - 1 reb, 4 ast, 0 pts
15-Carlton Clay, F - 2 reb, 2 ast, 0 pts
21-Tyme Hodges, G - 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 36/78 fg (.462), 14/19 ft (.737), 45 reb, 25 ast, 1 blk, 10 stl, 95 pts
3-pt fg (9): Webb 4, Bradley 3, We.White 2
Fouled Out: Wa.White 4:34 in OT, Holland 2:02 in OT, Bradley 1.5 in OT
Turnovers (18): Webb 6, Bradley 4, Holland 3, We.White 3, Wa.White, Chambers
LA Southwest Cougars 99:
5-Michael Ford, SG - 16/25 fg, 11/15 ft, 3 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl, 51 pts
22-Darius Davis, PG - 0/2 fg, 1/2 ft, 11 ast, 1 stl, 1 pt
30-Jason Perry, PF - 6/11 fg, 4/4 ft, 13 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 16 pts
32-William White, C - 2/5 fg, 1/4 ft, 7 reb, 5 pts
33-Chris Lawson, SF - 2/8 fg, 1/2 ft, 9 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 5 pts
23-Ivan Jackson, F - 0/1 fg, 0 pts
21-Dominique Willis, G - 3/6 fg, 3 ast, 1 stl, 8 pts
12-Othyus Jeffers, F - 5/8 fg, 3/4 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 13 pts
31-Ernest Jenkins, G - 0/1 fg, 0 pts
3-Cedric Smith, G - 0/2 fg, 4 ast, 0 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 34/69 fg (.493), 21/31 ft (.677), 40 reb, 27 ast, 0 blk, 12 stl, 99 pts
3-pt fg (10): Ford 8, Willis 2
Turnovers (17): Ford 4, Perry 3, White 3, Davis 2, Lawson 2, Willis, Jeffers, Smith
Halftime Score: AVC 43, LASW 39
End, Regulation: Tied at 83
Updated Records: LASW 6-2, AVC 3-3
note: Ford set new Condor Classic record with 51 pts
