Richard Bivens had a double-double with 18 pts and 10 rebs and the East LA defense held host Canyons without a field goal for a key stretch in the second half as the #14-ranked Huskies edged the Cougars, 76-67, in the championship game of the 2014 Clash at Canyons in Santa Clarita.
It was a tense, foul-filled game - the teams combined for 61 personal fouls and an NBA-like total of 77 free throws - and East LA (2-0) saw a 14-point lead slip away midway through the second half when the Cougars tied the score at 54 with exactly ten minutes to play.
But then the Huskies held Canyons without a field goal for the next 7:30, going on a 15-3 run to take control of the game. Bivens started the run with a basket and a 3-point play, and Je'Ron Primus added 6 points and an assist during the rest of the run that saw East LA push its advantage to 69-57 with 3:07 left.
Early on, Canyons (1-1) held a 7-2 lead. East LA rallied to take an 8-7 advantage, but the Cougars answered with a 10-2 run to take a 17-10 lead midway through the first half.
But then East LA rallied to take a 21-20 lead and never trailed again. The East LA lead reached as many as 14 points late in the first half following a putback basket by DaShawn Hill that made it 42-28. COC got a free throw from Broderic Smith to make it 42-29 at the break, but Bivens split 2 free throws in the opening seconds of the second half to again make it a 14-point game at 43-29.
Canyons rallied after that, cutting the margin to single digits on an 8-0 spurt that included a pair of 3-pointers by Chance Cole to make it 43-37. East LA continued to hold a lead until Tullio Parry scored on a putback to tie the score at 54 with exactly 10 minutes to play, but that would be COC's last field goal until Victor Nwaba scored on a steal & lay-up with 2:30 left, by which time East LA was in control of the game.
Bivens led all scorers with his 18 pts, which came on 6-for-7 from the floor, and his 10 rebs were also game-high. Primus had 15 pts, 6 rebs, 5 asts and 2 steals, and Marquis Salmom came off the bench for 15 pts. Te'Shon Burton filled the stat sheet with 10 pts, 2 rebs, 2 asts, 3 blocks and 3 steals, but unfortunately he also accrued two technical fouls, the first on a double-technical, and was disqualified from the game in the final minute.
For Canyons, Coley Apsay scored a team-high 14 pts and added 4 asts and 2 steals, all without committing a turnover. Brenden Otero had 10 pts and 8 rebs, and Ricardo Greaves had 10 pts on 5-for-6 from the floor.
box score
2014 Clash at Canyons
Saturday, November 8th @ College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita
Championship Game - 1 pm
East LA Huskies 76:
2-Je'Ron Primus, SG - 5/8 fg, 5/6 ft, 6 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 15 pts
3-Marcus Romain, PG - 2/6 fg, 1/3 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 6 pts
24-Te'Shon Burton, SF - 2/10 fg, 6/6 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk, 3 stl, 4 pf, 10 pts
25-Richard Bivens, C - 6/7 fg, 6/10 ft, 10 reb, 1 stl, 4 pf, 18 pts
33-Primitivo Gomez, PF - 0/4 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 2 pts
12-Dakari King, G - 1/2 fg, 0/1 ft, 2 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 2 pts
35-Marquis Salmon, F - 5/7 fg, 5/6 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 5 pf, 15 pts
23-DaShawn Hill, C - 1/1 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 3 pf, 2 pts
1-Michael Cardenas, G - 2/5 fg, 2 reb, 2 stl, 6 pts
11-Ante Joyner, F - 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 4 pf,k 0 pts
10-Miles Ford, G - 0 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 24/51 fg (.471), 25/34 ft (.735), 34 reb, 16 ast, 5 blk, 16 stl, 34 pf, 76 pts
3-pt fg (3): Cardenas 2, Romain
Technical Fouls: Burton 2 (ejected 48.7 seconds left
Fouled Out: Salmon 4:02 left
Turnovers (24): Primus 4, Burton 4, Romain 3, Bivens 3, King 3, Gomez 2, Cardenas 2, Salmon, Hill, Joyner
Canyons Cougars 67:
10-Coley Apsay, PG - 2/11 fg, 9/10 ft, 2 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 14 pts
24-Chance Cole, SG - 3/6 fg, 1/4 ft, 1 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 9 pts
34-Tullio Parry, SF - 2/5 fg, 3/6 ft, 5 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 8 pts
41-Brenden Otero, C - 3/6 fg, 4/6 ft, 8 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 10 pts
44-Ricardo Greaves, PF - 5/6 fg, 0/2 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 5 pf, 10 pts
20-Riley Honaker, G - 0/1 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 1 pt
35-Malcolm Wadlow, F - 1/3 fg, 4/5 ft, 4 reb, 2 pf, 6 pts
31-Victor Nwaba, G - 1/2 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 3 pts
15-Broderic Smith, G - 0/1 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 pt
25-Danny Bettis, F - 1 reb, 1 pf, 0 pts
30-Garrett Mike, F - 0 pts
21-Harrison Haynes, G - 1/3 fg, 3/4 ft, 1 reb, 1 stl, 1 pf, 5 pts
team rebounds: 8
Totals: 18/43 fg (.419), 27/43 ft (.628), 35 reb, 13 ast, 5 blk, 9 stl, 27 pf, 67 pts
3-pt fg (4): Cole 2, Apsay, Parry
Technical Foul: Nwaba
Turnovers (27): Nwaba 5, Parry 4, Greaves 4, Haynes 4, Honaker 3, Cole 2, Bettis 2, Otero, Wadlow, Smith
Halftime Score: East LA 42, Canyons 29
Updated Records: East LA (#14-South preseason) 2-0, Canyons 1-1
East LA led by 14 in each half before Canyons rallied to tie it 54-54 with 10 mins left.
East LA held COC without a FG for 7:30, going on a 15-3 run to lead 69-57 and led the rest of the way.
