Here is a game-by-game summary for the games I attended at the SoCal JUCO Shootout on Saturday, July 16th @ Cerritos College.
Box Scores are linked at the bottom of the page.
Orange Coast 54, Santa Barbara 36:
Kamar Reese scored 12 pts on 5-for-6 from the floor to lead a balanced Orange Coast offense in a 54-36 thrashing of Santa Barbara.
OCC led by as many as 10 points in the first half and led, 32-26, at the half. But then the Pirates started the 2nd half with a 13-0 run to push the lead to 45-26, and after that Orange Coast led handily the rest of the way.
Reese led all scorers with his 12 pts, though he was the player on either team to reach double digits. Eleven different players scored for OCC.
Eban Madyun had 9 pts, 3 rebs, 4 asts and a steal for SBCC. Drayten Howell had 9 pts, 2 rebs, 3 asts and a steal. Ben Clay came off the bench for 6 pts and a game-high 6 rebs.
Santa Monica 74, Sequoias 56:
Joe Robertson scored 20 pts and Isaiah Ajiboye scored 16 as Santa Monica led virtually all the way in an 18-point victory over College of the Sequoias.
SMC took a 17-6 lead in the game's first 5 minutes, and led by 20 points at 40-20 late in the first half.
COS cut the margin in half to trail by 10 at the half, 42-32, and scored the first 4 points of the second half to get within 6. But then Santa Monica went on an 11-0 run to push the lead back to 17 points at 53-36, and the Corsairs led handily the rest of the way.
Robertson led all scorers with his 20 pts, which came on 8-for-12 from the floor. Ajiboye had 16 pts on 5-for-7 from the floor and also had 4 asts and 3 steals. Michael Fry had 10 pts and 6 rebs.
For COS, Ruben Parks scored a team-high 13 pts. Isaiah Johnson had 9 pts, 3 rebs and 2 asts. Austin Molezzo scored 8 pts and Alphonse Manalo scored 7.
LA Pierce 55, Orange Coast 43:
Anton Datcher scored 16 pts on 7-for-8 from the floor and added 8 rebs, 2 asts and 2 steals to lead Pierce to the double-digit win.
Pierce jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead and led all the way, opening a 9-point lead at 17-8 midway through the first half. OCC got within two points late in the first half before Datcher scored off a pass from Cody Rodino just before the halftime horn to make it 29-25 at the break.
OCC got a 3-pointer from Nate Harding to start the 2nd half to close the gap to a point, but Pierce never surrendered the lead. Iseah Rodgers scored on a 4-point play to push Pierce's lead back to 7 at 44-37 with 4:31 left. Then Lucious Coleman passed to Brandon White for one score and then added a 2-point free throw to make it 49-39 and put the Brahmas in control.
Datcher led all scorers with his 16 pts, and was the only player on Pierce to score in double digits. Rodino had 9 pts and a game-high 5 asts. Rodgers had 8 pts, 5 rebs, 2 asts and a steal, and Coleman had 8 pts and 2 asts. White had 4 pts and a game-high 9 rebs.
For Orange Coast, Sean Comer had 10 pts, 3 rebs and 2 steals. Jumoke Walker had 8 pts, a team-high 4 asts and a steal. Kamar Reese came off the bench and scored 8 pts as well.
LA Southwest 56, Desert 48:
Kiza Sekiyoba scored 11 pts as LA Southwest won over College of the Desert despite a monster game from COD freshman forward Todd Quintero-Nicklaus.
Quintero-Nicklaus, a 6-2 qualifier from Fargo ND, had 15 pts, 20 rebs and 6 asts in a stunning Roadrunner debut. He made 7 of 11 shots from the floor and also grabbed a steal for COD.
But Southwest used its superior depth to wear down COD, which had just 8 players on hand. Neither team led by more than 5 points until Marcell Houser made a 2-point free throw to give Southwest a 48-41 lead with 5:39 remaining.
After that, however, Southwest took control of the game and led the rest of the way. D'Lano Beckles scored twice - the first on a driving slam dunk through the lane - to make it 54-43 with 1:23 remaining, pretty much clinching the win for the Cougars.
Sekiyoba led Southwest with 11 pts, and his 7 rebs were also team-high. Beckles had 8 pts, 5 rebs, 3 asts and 2 steals. Willie Barnes had 8 pts and 3 rebs. Jalen Holford had 6 pts and a game-high 6 steals. Greg Thomas had 4 pts, 5 rebs and 3 asts.
For Desert, Quintero-Nicklaus was one of two players to score in double digits. The other was Anthony Ogrodnick, who had 14 pts. Kenny Lewis had 9 pts, 6 rebs and 2 steals.
Green Machine (Oxnard) 69, Desert 48:
Daniel DeJoya scored 15 pts and William Blue scored 13 as the Green Machine - really Oxnard College - raced past College of the Desert for a 21-point win.
The Green Machine - so named because the Ventura County Community College District does not officially support out-of-season events like shootouts - scored the first 7 points of the game. Desert rallied to tie the score, 9-9, and the score remained close for the rest of the half as The Machine led, 25-23, at the break.
But when the second half started, the Green Machine shifted into high gear, starting the half with an 11-0 run. A 3-pointer by Blue pushed the lead to 14 points at 41-27 and a 3-point play by Gabriel Lemon extended the margin to 15 points at 47-32 with 7:36 remaining. The Machine led handily the rest of the way.
DeJoya finished with a game-high 15 pts plus 3 asts and 3 steals. Blue came off the bench for 13 pts, including 3 three-pointers. Lonnie Hinchen had 9 pts and team-highs of 8 rebs and 4 steals.
For Desert, Todd Quintero-Nicklaus scored a team-high 12 pts and just missed his second straight double-double with a game-high 9 rebs. He also had 4 asts and a steal. Philippe Salawa had 11 pts off the bench, and Anthony Ogrodnick had 9. Etienne Ettlinger had 7 pts, 4 rebs and 4 asts. DeJon Talbert had 4 pts and a game-high 6 asts.
The Revolution 72, San Diego Mesa 54:
Chris Johnson (Bakersfield) scored 22 pts and Michael Garcia (Santa Monica) scored 16 as The Revolution posted an 18-point victory over San Diego Mesa.
The Revolution, a team of unsigned players, mostly graduating JC sophomores, scored the first 7 points of the game. But Mesa hung tough early, scoring the next 6 points of the game and eventually tying the score at 15.
However, after that the super-athletic Revolution pulled away. A 2-point free throw by Evan Crawford (Santa Monica) capped a 16-4 run, stretching the lead to 12 points, and The Revolution led, 37-23, at the half. Then The Revolution started the second half with a 6-0 spurt to stretch the lead to 20 points at 43-23. The Revolution led handily the rest of the way.
Johnson scored a game-high 22 pts and also had 5 rebs and 2 steals. Garcia had 16 pts, 5 rebs, 2 asts and a blocked shot. William Brown (Desert) had 12 pts and 5 rebs. Victor Nwaba (Canyons) had 7 pts, 4 asts and 4 steals, and Crawford had 6 pts, 6 rebs and 2 blocked shots.
For SD Mesa, Morrie Neeley scored a team-high 17 pts on 7-for-11 from the floor. Sohn Walker had 15 pts and Jacob Plum had 12. Armstrong Ojunkwu had 10 pts and a game-high 9 rebs. Those four players accounted for all 54 Mesa points.
LA Trade Tech 63, Canyons 48:
James Brown scored 20 pts and grabbed 8 rebs to lead LA Trade Tech to a 15-point victory over College of the Canyons.
Trade Tech scored the game's first 6 points and led, 12-2, early on. Canyons rallied to get within a point at 19-18, but Trade Tech stayed in the lead and held a 35-30 advantage at the break.
Trade Tech scored the first 8 points of the second half to stretch its lead to 43-30, and the Beavers led by double digits the rest of the way.
Brown scored his game-high 20 pts on 8-for-12 from the floor, and he also had 8 rebs and 3 steals. Phillip Morgan had 12 pts and Leroy Jones had 10 pts, 4 rebs and 2 steals. Timothy Conner had 9 pts and 8 rebs. Point guard Michael Murphy had just 2 pts (after scoring 14 in LATT's prior game) but controlled play with 8 rebs, 8 asts and 3 steals.
For Canyons, Michael Kalu scored 13 pts on 5-for-6 from the floor. Jason Horosny, who missed most of last season with a potentially serious back injury, had 13 pts, 5 rebs, 2 asts and a steal.
Grossmont 69, LA Harbor 67 (OT):
David Wheeler scored 24 pts, all in the second half, including the game-winning FT in overtime to cap an absolutely incredible comeback by Grossmont as the Griffins rallied from 20 points down for the win over LA Harbor.
Wheeler never got off the bench in the first half, but poured in a team-high 24 pts, including 6 three-pointers, on 8-for-11 from the floor when he finally got his chance.
For much of the game, it looked like Harbor would have an easy time of things. The Seahawks scored the game's first 8 points and led, 16-5, midway through the first half. At one points Joel Anderson made back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch the lead to 19 points at 30-11.
Grossmont cut the margin to 15 at the half to trail, 41-26, but then Harbor scored the first 5 points of the second half to take a 20-point lead at 46-26 in the first minute of the half.
But Harbor had just 7 players available, and the Seahawks were playing their second game of the day and fourth game of the weekend. And 4 of the 7 players were of the veteran variety, having finished high school in 2011 or earlier.
The Griffins closed the gap to a dozen points at 54-42 when Anderson hit his 5th 3-pointer of the game to make it 57-42. He had yet to miss a shot at that point, and his 3-pointer seemed to restore order for the Seahawks.
But then Wheeler started making 3-pointers. He made three straight 3-pointers to bring the Griffins within 7 at 61-54, and made another to make it a 4-point game at 63-59 with 1:13 left. He mixed in a lay-up with 31.3 seconds left to make it a 2-point game at 63-61.
Anderson made a 2-point free throw for Harbor to make it 65-61, but Wheeler canned yet another three with 25.1 seconds left to make it a 1-point game. Paulo Hugo made a 2-point free throw for Harbor to make it 67-64, and Wheeler finally missed a 3-point attempt. Paris Foster got the rebound and was fouled with 11.3 seconds left in regulation as Harbor clung to the 3-point lead.
But Foster missed the resulting free throw. After a timeout, Grossmont got the ball to Bryce Parsons for an open 3-pointer from beyond the left elbow. The shot missed off the rim, but Devon Bell tapped the rebound right back to Parsons, and on his second try he swished a 3-pointer just as the horn sounded, capping the incredible comeback and sending the game to overtime.
Harbor won the tip to start sudden-death OT, but missed a shot, giving Grossmont a chance to win it. And though Daniel McCown's shot missed, Wheeler got the rebound in the left corner. He drove down the baseline and was fouled. And of course he made the resulting free throw, giving Grossmont the most unlikely win.
Wheeler led the Griffins with his 24 pts. Parsons had 11 pts, including 3 three-pointers, one of which sent the game to OT. He also had a team-high 4 asts. Muhammad Ahmad had 9 pts, all on 3-pointers, while McCown and D'Aubre Doucette each scored 7. In all, Grossmont made 13 threes in the game.
For Harbor, Anderson had a stellar game with 21 pts on 6-for-7 from the floor, including 5 three-pointers. He also had 6 rebs, a game-high 6 asts and 2 steals. But he did not lead the Seahawks in scoring; Donald Hughes had that honor with 24 pts on 8-for-12 from the floor, including a pair of threes.
Compton 73, Canyons 60:
Alonzo Taylor scored 19 pts on 6-for-6 from the floor, including 5 three-pointers, to lead Compton to a 13-point win over Canyons in the final game of the shootout.
Compton took the floor wearing easily the sharpest uniforms in the event - provided by coach Keith Higgins - but the game was played on mostly even terms for a half. Canyons led, 16-11, early on, though Compton tied the score at 21. The lead changed hands several times later in the half, which ended with Compton holding a 40-37 advantage.
But in the second half, Compton started with a 13-2 run to take control of the game, and the Tartars led by double digits the rest of the way. Consecutive 3-point plays by Jayvon Brown and Jeremiah Curtis capped the run, making it 53-39, and a 3-pointer by Taylor stretched the lead to 15 points at 60-45.
Taylor led all scorers with his 19 pts on flawless shooting (6-for-6 from the floor, 1-for-1 from the free throw line). Kyvonte Davis had 11 pts and 3 asts, and Brown had 10 pts, 3 asts and 2 steals. Dajion Henderson had 8 pts and a team-high 5 rebs. Calvin House had 2 pts and a game-high 5 asts.
For Canyons, Jason Horosny had a tea,-high 14 pts. Garrett Harding had 12 pts and 5 rebs, and Michael Kalu had 10 pts, 3 rebs, 4 asts and 2 steals. David Schwer came off the bench for 10 pts on 4-for-5 from the floor.
Box Scores (NYE = Not Yet Entered)
Orange Coast 54, Santa Barbara 36
Santa Monica 74, Sequoias 56
LA Pierce 55, Orange Coast 43
LA Southwest 56, Desert 48
Green Machine (Oxnard) 69, Desert 48
The Revolution 72, SD Mesa 54
LA Trade Tech 63, Canyons 48
Grossmont 69, LA Harbor 67 (OT)
Compton 73, Canyons 60
