The 2014 SoCal JUCO Shootout took place July 18 & 19 at Cerritos College.
There were 37 teams in action, including 34 colleges (and 3 independent teams). I managed to see 32 of them in 20 games over the two days.
Here is a game-by-game summary for the 11 games I watched on Saturday:
Cerritos 58, Bakersfield 52:
Micah Winn scored 17 points and Jeff Gonzalez had 11 points and 8 rebounds as Cerritos rallied from an 18-point deficit for a 6-point win over Bakersfield.
Cerritos fell behind, 20-2, in the game's first 7:57 and looked dead in the water as Bakersfield started the game with a 6-0 spurt and just kept on scoring.
But Cerritos rallied in the final seven-plus minutes of the first half, cutting the deficit to a single point at the break. And the Falcons took a 31-30 lead on a basket by Tyler Payne early in the second half.
The lead went back and forth over the next several minutes, but Cerritos took a 44-39 lead on a 3-pointer by Michael Crosby with 5:32 and led the rest of the way. Bakersfield was within four points in the final minute but then Josh Bell and Jonathan Brown made 2-point free throws to clinch the win for Cerritos.
Winn led all scorers with his 17 points, and he also had 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Gonzalez had 11 points, a game-high 8 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Brian Nebo had 10 points and 5 rebounds, and Bell had 8 points.
For Bakersfield, Delvon Hightower scored 13 points and grabbed a team-high 6 rebounds. Alex Daniels also had 13 points and added 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Gary Dysart had 8 points and a game-high 6 assists, and D.J. Wooley had 8 points in the first half before getting ejected on a technical foul (a single technical meant an ejection in this event) just before halftime.
Merritt 60, Canyons 36:
Denzel Bellot scored 16 points and added 4 assists and 4 steals to lead Merritt to a most impressive victory over a shorthanded Canyons team.
Bellot helped Merritt jump out to a 27-11 lead after a 3-point play with 3:55 left in the first half as Merritt's pressure caused Canyons to commit 12 first-half turnovers.
Canyons rallied to cut the deficit to single digits when Zach Garlitos forced a Merritt turnover near midcourt with just a few seconds left in the half. The ball went out of bounds, and on the restart Harrison Haynes got the ball in the left corner and made a three just ahead of the halftime horn to make it 30-21.
But in the second half, Merritt quickly pushed the lead back to double figures. Bellot made a 3-pointer and a fast-break basket to make it 35-21, and scored off a pass fro Travan King to push the lead to 17 at 44-27. Matthew Thomas scored off a pass from D.J. Kennedy to push the margin beyond 20 points at 51-30 with 6:20 remaining.
Bellot led all scorers with his 17 points, which came on 7-for-11 from the floor, and he added 4 assists and a game-high 4 steals while not committing a single turnover. Leo Smith had 10 points, including a pair of threes, plus 3 rebounds and 3 assists. King had a strong all-around game with 5 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals.
For Canyons, Garlitos scored a team-high 11 points, including 3 three-pointers. Tulio Parry had 10 points and a game-high 8 rebounds. But COC was without injured Coley Apsay, Marc Cabrera and Malcolm Wadlow.
Team Power 66, LA Southwest 64 (OT)
Donald Muepo (Riverside) scored 16 points and blocked an attempted lay-up in overtime that led to the winning basket by Chris Fowler (Chaffey) for the independent Team Power.
LA Southwest got to overtime thanks to a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Vaughn Autry, who beat West LA with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer earlier in the shootout. And the Cougars gained possession off the tip in sudden death OT and got the ball to Reggie Fields for a potential game-winning score.
But Muepo blocked the shot at the rim, and it went to Anthony Harris. He passed it to Anthony Harris, who passed it to Fowler for the winning score.
For much of the game it didn't look like Team Power would need that type of drama to win the game. Power jumped out to a 17-10 lead midway through the first half, led 31-24 at the half and took a 36-26 lead early in the second half.
But LA Southwest kept battling back. The Cougars erased that early 7-point deficit by tying the score at 17 before falling behind again. And they rallied to take a 42-41 lead midway through the second half on a basket by Broadrick Harris.
Team Power took a 56-50 lead on an alley-oop jam from Sherron Bradford. But Southwest got within a point on a basket by Antoine Brown with about 40 seconds left in regulation time. Fowler made a free throw for Team Power with 21.8 seconds left to make it 64-61, but Autry sent the game to overtime with his 3-pointer as the horn sounded to end regulation time.
Muepo led all scorers with his 16 points and he also had 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Fowler scored 13 points and had 4 assists. Broadband scored 8 points and Wilder had 7 points, 8 rebounds and a very important assist.
For LA Southwest, Fields scored a team-high 15 points and also had 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Autry had 14 points, all in the second half, plus 3 assists and 3 steals. Christian Pumphrey had 8 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Brown had 4 points and a game-high 6 assists.
LA Harbor 49, Glendale 31:
Shane Smith scored 16 points as LA Harbor gained a small - a very small - measure of revenge in a playoff rematch from last spring in an 18-point rout over Glendale.
Harbor held a modest 10-8 lead until back-to-back 3-pointers by Smith and Jerran Maybe, and pushed the lead to double figures on a 3-point play by Elliot Morris that made it 19-8. The lead was 26-12 at the half and Harbor led handily throughout the second half.
Smith led all scorers with his 16 points, which came on 4-for-7 from the floor and included 3 three-pointers; he also had 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. Moris had 13 points and a game-high 7 rebounds, and Maybe had 11 points including a pair of three-pointers. Donnell Drain had 5 points and a game-high 4 assists.
For Glendale, Jalen Etienne scored 9 points and added 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Diondrey Holt had 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, and Sontiago Grady had 3 points and a team-high 6 rebounds. But the Vaqueros not only had to deal with the graduation of standout frontcourt players Gor Plavchyan and Emmett Duvall from last year's squad but also the absence of 6-10 Garland Ramsey and the quick departure of starting center B.J. Smith after taking an inadvertant elbow to the jaw in the game's opening minute.
Porterville 45, Desert 43 (OT)
Tyrone Hall scored the winning basket in overtime to lift Porterville to a sudden-death victory over College of the Desert.
Desert sent the game to overtime when Mark Johnson made a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 43. And COD had a chance to win in overtime when Jordan Pellum went to the free throw line, but he missed what would have been the winning score.
All that followed a scrambly but most competitive game in which the teams combined for 35 turnovers but that was close virtually all the way.
Desert briefly took a 9-point lead at 22-13 after a couple of 3-pointers by Pellum and led, 22-15, at the half. But Porterville rallied to take a 25-24 lead about 5 minutes into the second half, and the lead went back and forth the rest of the way.
Deert led, 40-36, with 2:40 left. But Hall made a 3-pointer to bring Porterville within a point at 40-39, and made a 2-point free throw with just under a minute to go to give the Pirates a 41-40 lead. He made another free throw with 16.4 seconds left to make it 43-40, but Johnson tied it up for Desert to send the game to OT.
Hall finished with 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. Adam Armstead also scored 9 points, Phil Dunigan scored 8 and Malik Muhammad had 7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Dale Kirkland had 4 points and a team-high 8 rebounds.
For Desert, Pellum scored a game-high 12 points and 5 rebounds, and Anthony Kellum came off the bench for 10 points. Johnson had 7 points and a team-high 8 rebounds.
LA Harbor 44, West LA 34
Dushone Brown scored 18 points and added 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals to lead LA Harbor to a 10-point win over West LA.
LA Harbor took a 12-4 midway through the the first half, and expanded the margin to double digits when David Kane made a 3-pointer to make it 21-9. Julius Wiliams scored off a pass from Brown to make it 23-9, and Harbor led by 14 at 29-15 at the half.
In the second half, Harbor, which split its roster into two teams for this event, brought in some reinforcements from the other squad to help maintain the lead. Guards Shane Smith and Donnell Drain helped stabilize things and prevent a West LA comeback.
Brown led all scorers with his 18 points, which came on 7-for-11 from the floor. Chad Tiredeau had 9 points and a game-high 6 rebounds. Larry Taylor had 4 points and a game-high 4 assists.
For West LA, Sammie Archer scored a team-best 9 points and added 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Andre Edwards, who starred at Crenshaw HS and Future College Prep, had 4 points and a team-high 5 rebounds. But standout guard Darius Middleton left the game with an injury early in the second half, severely limiting West's chances for a comeback.
Desert 53, Irvine Valley 47:
Mark Johnson scored 16 points and added 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and a steal to lead Desert to a 6-point win over Irvine Valley.
Desert took an 18-12 lead midway through the first half, led by 7 at 33-26 at the half and led the rest of the way.
Irvine Valley scored the first 6 points of the second half to get within a point at 33-32, but never quite caught up. Desert pushed the lead to 8 points at 42-34 and to as many as 12 points after a 2-point free throw by Johnson made it 51-39 with 4:24 left.
Irvine Valley rallied to get within four points at 53-47 when Mike Turner scored on a putback of his own miss with 1:08 left. But neither team scored again, allowing COD to come away with the win.
Johnson led all scorers with his 16 points, which came on 6-for-8 from the floor and included a pair of three-pointers. Terrence Weineke came off the bench for 11 points and 5 rebounds, and Jordan Pellum scored 8 points and had 4 rebounds.
For Irvine Valley, Jacob Dean had 8 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Turner had 8 points and 6 rebounds, and A.J. Hernandez also scored 8 points. Kody Eckert had 4 points and a game-high 6 assists.
IVC split its team into two teams for this event. This game featured mostly younger players and did not include returning starters Jimmy Golden, Jalen Hall and Chris Porter.
Long Beach 61, Palomar 59:
Four players scored in double digits and Long Beach held off a late Palomar rally to hold on for a 61-59 win over the Comets.
Long Beach expanded a narrow 26-24 halftime lead early in the second half and led by as many as 14 points after a basket by Chris Spencer made it 45-31.
Palomar rallied, closing the gap to just two points at 53-51 following a basket by Jeremy Franklin with 2:55 left. But the Comets never quite caught up. Brandon Staton and Chris Camper each made 2-point free throws for Long Beach in the final 15.6 seconds to keep it a two-possession game, rendering harmless Palomar's final basket just ahead of the final horn that closed out the scoring.
Spencer led the Vikings with 12 points, and Jovan Pearson scored 11 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Staton scored 10 points and added 4 assists and 2 steals. Camper had 10 points, a team-high 7 rebounds and a game-high 4 steals.
For Palomar, Franklin scored a game-high 18 points and also pulled down a team-high 7 rebounds. James Sampson scored 12 points on 5-for-6 from the floor and added 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. Braxton Smith scored 10 points and dished out a game-high 6 assists.
Santa Ana 53, The Revolution 51 (OT)
Troyon Butler scored 14 points and grabbed 5 rebounds, and Terrence Blum scored the winning basket in sudden-death overtime to lift Santa Ana past the independent team The Revolution.
Butler, who played briefly for Chaffey last season, tied the game with a 2-point free throw with 20.2 seconds left in regulation. Then in OT, Ramez Michail blocked a shot and began a fast break. Roger Hamel grabbed the rebound and headed up the court, and passed the ball to Blum for a slam dunk that won the game for the Dons.
The Revolution held a narrow lead for much of the first half, but Santa Ana tied the score 25-25 at the half and took a lead on a 3-pointer by Andrew Avila to start the second half. The Revolution went back in front on a free throw by Kent Taylor and led, 41-37, after an acrobatic reverse slam dunk by Adom Jacko (Chaffey) off an alley-oop pass from Taylor moments later.
Santa Ana took a 45-41 lead after two 2-point free throws by Butler, but The Revolution went back in front on a 3-point play by Shakur Pinder with 2:28 left. Santa Ana went back in front brielfy, 49-48, but a 3-pointer by Isaiah Hicks (Allan Hancock) gave The Revolution a 51-49 lead with 50 seconds left before Butler sent the game to OT with his final free throw.
Butler led all scorers with his 14 points, which included 4 2-point free throws, and his 5 rebounds tied for team-high. Blum had 6 points and also grabbed 5 rebounds. Michail had 7 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocked shots, one of which proved to be rather pivotal.
For The Revolution, Dakota Allinson (Fullerton) scored 13 points on 5-for-6 from the floor and also grabbed a game-high 7 rebounds. Jacko had 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a blocked shot. Hicks scored 5 points and dished out a game-high 4 assists.
LA Trade Tech 56, Mt. San Jacinto 55:
Shelton Boykin scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and LA Trade Tech staged a late-game rally to come away with a 1-point win over Mt. San Jacinto.
Trade Tech got 11 early points from Boykin, and held a 33-26 lead late in the first half. But Mt. San Jacinto scored the final 7 points of the half to tie the score 33-33 at the break.
It was tied again at 46 when Mt. San Jacinto went on another 7-0 spurt to seemingly take control of the game. Alan Palesano hit a 3-pointer to make it 51-46, and Sam Williams scored off a pass from Nikko Turner after a steal to make it 53-46.
But Trade Tech rallied, closing the gap to a single point on a 3-pointer by Boykin with 1:10 left to play. Then as the clock wound down, Boykin missed a 3-pointer but Antonio Singleton got the rebound, was fouled and made the resulting free throw for what turned out to be the winning score with 5.7 seconds left.
Mt. San Jacinto had one last chance to win, and after a timeout got the ball to Tre Hunter. But his 3-point try from beyond the right elbow bounced off the rim as time expired.
Boykin led all scorers with his 24 points, which included 5 three-pointers, and he also had a team-high 10 rebounds and 2 assists. Singleton had 14 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. David Murrell scored 6 points and Darnell Christopher had 4 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
For Mt. San Jacinto, Williams had a double-double with a team-high 19 points and 10 rebounds. Austin Klug also posted a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Hunter finished with 11 points, including 3 three-pointers, plus 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
East LA 52, Santa Ana 39:
Marcus Romain scored 13 points and Michael Foster had a strong game with 6 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and a steal as East LA won the final game of the shootout over Santa Ana.
East LA took a 20-12 lead midway through the first half, and led by as many as 10 points late in the first half at 26-16.
It was 26-18 at the break, but East LA quickly expanded its lead back into double digits once the second half began. A steal & lay-up by Onsnar Garcia made it 36-20, and a 3-pointer by Je'Ron Primus pushed East LA's lead to 17 points at 39-22.
Santa Ana rallied to cut the margin to single digits after 3-pointers by Ausjal Fusick and Roger Hamel made it 28-39 and a mid-range jumper by Hamel made it 39-30.
But Romain converted a 3-point play to push the lead back to 12 points with 3:41 left, and passed to Cameron Hill for a basket to make it 44-30. Then Romain made 3 two-point free throws in the final minute to seal the win for East LA.
Romain was the only East LA player to score in double digits, but 12 different players scored at least two points for East LA.
But that was nothing compared to Santa Ana, which set what is believed to be a North American record by using 18 players in the game. Chris Kapano led the Dons with 6 points and 3 assists.
