BASKETBALL: Antelopes dig out of hole, hold on for GL victory
Feb. 7, 2014
By ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press Assistant Sports Editor
LANCASTER — Going up against the hottest team in the Golden League not named Knight, things weren't looking promising for the Antelope Valley girls basketball team as the third quarter neared its end Thursday night and the Antelopes had yet to score their first points of the second half.
Eastside, which came into the night having won five of its last six games after starting league play 1-4, had the 'Lopes on the ropes, playing inspired defense worthy of a team on its way to the upper echelons of the Golden League.
"Our problem was our offense got stagnant," said Eastside coach Gerard Nelson after his team dropped the intense game 47-43.
The offensive struggles of the Lions (12-7, 6-6 GL), who raced out to a 20-9 lead after the first quarter but could only score 23 more points the rest of the way, was one of the reasons for the defeat. The other, perhaps a bigger one, was the never-say-die attitude of AV (13-8, 9-3).
Already having cut a 14-point, second-quarter deficit to two points at the halftime buzzer, the 'Lopes couldn't buy a basket for the first 7½ minutes of the third quarter and went scoreless. Eastside's seven points in the period were enough to give the Lions a 36-27 lead.
But what AV couldn't do in almost the whole quarter, it did in the last 30 seconds, as Makaela Manson got a steal and a breakaway layup and Tylen Price hit a 3-pointer to chop the Lions' lead to 36-32 going into the final period.
"One thing about my girls is we practice very hard, we work really hard and they won't quit," AV coach Deon Price said. "They will play from the tip to the last horn. I think that showed tonight."
AV scored on back-to-back layups to tie the game at 36-36 with 6:40 to go in the game. What ensued was a physical back-and-forth battle in which neither team took a lead bigger than two points until Morgan Bizzell hit two free throws with 12 seconds to go to put AV up 46-43.
The fourth quarter was chippy, with multiple players taking tumbles to the floor and the refs calling numerous fouls that resulted in 25 combined free throws.
"It slowed the whole pace of the game way down," Nelson said.
Eastside made only one field goal in the fourth, a layup by Shantanel Bivens who scored a team-high 15 points. The points gave the Lions a 41-39 lead, but Bizzell and Tylen Price, who scored a game-high 17 points, scored their team's next seven points and AV held on for the tough victory.
The Antelopes went ahead for good after Bizzell hit a free throw to go up 44-43 with 54.5 seconds to go. She would hit two more following an Eastside turnover 42 seconds later.
"I had to take a deep breath and then shoot," said Bizzell (13 points) of the pressure-packed free throws. "It was very intense."
The Lions had one final chance after forcing AV into a miss with nine seconds to go. Rickki West grabbed the defensive rebound and charged ahead with three Antelopes chasing after her, but she tripped and fell to the floor and AV grabbed the loose ball.
Manson was fouled and made a free throw for the final margin.
"It's really tough to lose a lead like that and lose the game," West said. "But you can't dwell on that."
The Lions fell behind 8-3 early in the first quarter, but then went on a 17-1 run to finish the period with an 11-point lead. Bobbie Gonzales hit three 3-pointers in the first eight minutes for Eastside, but couldn't muster much offense after, finishing with 12 points for the game.
Still, Eastside led 26-12 in the second quarter. That's before AV tightened up its defense and went on a quarter-ending 15-3 run. Eastside had six turnovers in the period.
From then on, it was a grind, one AV came away with.
"We stayed patient," Price said. "It's going to happen like that when you're playing at someone else's house."
Added Bizzell: "This is one of the games that we really wanted."
It showed.
By ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press Assistant Sports Editor
LANCASTER — Going up against the hottest team in the Golden League not named Knight, things weren't looking promising for the Antelope Valley girls basketball team as the third quarter neared its end Thursday night and the Antelopes had yet to score their first points of the second half.
Eastside, which came into the night having won five of its last six games after starting league play 1-4, had the 'Lopes on the ropes, playing inspired defense worthy of a team on its way to the upper echelons of the Golden League.
"Our problem was our offense got stagnant," said Eastside coach Gerard Nelson after his team dropped the intense game 47-43.
The offensive struggles of the Lions (12-7, 6-6 GL), who raced out to a 20-9 lead after the first quarter but could only score 23 more points the rest of the way, was one of the reasons for the defeat. The other, perhaps a bigger one, was the never-say-die attitude of AV (13-8, 9-3).
Already having cut a 14-point, second-quarter deficit to two points at the halftime buzzer, the 'Lopes couldn't buy a basket for the first 7½ minutes of the third quarter and went scoreless. Eastside's seven points in the period were enough to give the Lions a 36-27 lead.
But what AV couldn't do in almost the whole quarter, it did in the last 30 seconds, as Makaela Manson got a steal and a breakaway layup and Tylen Price hit a 3-pointer to chop the Lions' lead to 36-32 going into the final period.
"One thing about my girls is we practice very hard, we work really hard and they won't quit," AV coach Deon Price said. "They will play from the tip to the last horn. I think that showed tonight."
AV scored on back-to-back layups to tie the game at 36-36 with 6:40 to go in the game. What ensued was a physical back-and-forth battle in which neither team took a lead bigger than two points until Morgan Bizzell hit two free throws with 12 seconds to go to put AV up 46-43.
The fourth quarter was chippy, with multiple players taking tumbles to the floor and the refs calling numerous fouls that resulted in 25 combined free throws.
"It slowed the whole pace of the game way down," Nelson said.
Eastside made only one field goal in the fourth, a layup by Shantanel Bivens who scored a team-high 15 points. The points gave the Lions a 41-39 lead, but Bizzell and Tylen Price, who scored a game-high 17 points, scored their team's next seven points and AV held on for the tough victory.
The Antelopes went ahead for good after Bizzell hit a free throw to go up 44-43 with 54.5 seconds to go. She would hit two more following an Eastside turnover 42 seconds later.
"I had to take a deep breath and then shoot," said Bizzell (13 points) of the pressure-packed free throws. "It was very intense."
The Lions had one final chance after forcing AV into a miss with nine seconds to go. Rickki West grabbed the defensive rebound and charged ahead with three Antelopes chasing after her, but she tripped and fell to the floor and AV grabbed the loose ball.
Manson was fouled and made a free throw for the final margin.
"It's really tough to lose a lead like that and lose the game," West said. "But you can't dwell on that."
The Lions fell behind 8-3 early in the first quarter, but then went on a 17-1 run to finish the period with an 11-point lead. Bobbie Gonzales hit three 3-pointers in the first eight minutes for Eastside, but couldn't muster much offense after, finishing with 12 points for the game.
Still, Eastside led 26-12 in the second quarter. That's before AV tightened up its defense and went on a quarter-ending 15-3 run. Eastside had six turnovers in the period.
From then on, it was a grind, one AV came away with.
"We stayed patient," Price said. "It's going to happen like that when you're playing at someone else's house."
Added Bizzell: "This is one of the games that we really wanted."
It showed.