Men's College Basketball: AVC keeps SDCC at bay in playoff opener
By ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press
Feb. 26, 2016
LANCASTER - Chris Martin hit the floor for what seemed like the 100th time a player got close and personal with the hardwood on Friday night, and for once a coach didn't demand that a foul be called.
"It might be the most physical game we've played (this season)," the Antelope Valley College guard said.
In his haste to get back into the second half of a second-round game of the CCCAA SoCal Regional playoffs against San Diego City College, Martin had simply stumbled on his way to the scorer's table, drawing light laughter from the home supporters.
But in a laboring 87-83 grind-out win that catapulted the Marauders (24-6) to round 3 against either San Bernardino or Citrus, it was all intense, serious business as AVC and San Diego City (22-8) traded almost as many body checks as baskets.
In the end, however, thanks to Martin's 14 points and Cory Dollarhide's 19, 14 of them after halftime, the bruised Marauders out-toughened the taller Knights and kept their home record intact at 11-0 and moved on.
"We like to play physical, that's what we're about," Dollarhide said.
With bodies flying everywhere but refs electing to be selective on their foul calls, the Marauders used a 29-12 run in which they didn't allow a field goal by SDCC for 11 minutes to take a 38-24 lead with 2:13 to go in the first half.
At halftime, the Knights were shooting 29 percent and had assisted on two baskets, but were only down 42-31 thanks to making 11 of 13 free-throw attempts.
"We're too small not to play physical, we have to," AVC head coach John Taylor said. "Our guys bought into that and we'll take a few fouls here and there as long as we set the tone."
The Marauders never lost the lead in the second half, but the Knights came awfully close to grabbing it time after time.
A Spencer Mattox layup cut AVC's lead to 51-49 with 13:26 to go in the game, but the Marauders responded with a 7-2 run to give themselves some breathing room.
But SDCC simply wouldn't go away. After a layup and a free throw form Kenneth Moffett (11 points) with 8:10 to go, AVC led 65-57, and the feeling was the Marauders had pulled away for good. However, a 7-1 Knight run shortly after made it a two-point game again.
The theme continued through the rest of the half, but a Dollarhide layup with 34 seconds to go and four big free throws by Martin and two from Joseph Moorer down the stretch kept the Knights from ever fully completing their charge.
"Absolutely, it was a great game," Taylor said. "We took their best shots, they took our best shots and at the end we were fortunate to be on top."
Said Martin: "I felt like we kept our composure and we were able to push through their run."
For SDCC, 7-foot freshman Leonard Allen scored a game-high 21 points, many of them on alley-oop layups and dunks against the shorter Marauders, and 6-foot-11 freshman Alex Wilbourn added 14 points. Guard Taylor Nelson scored 19.
By design, the Marauders played physically and up-tempo. In multiple occasions, a winded Allen could be seen trailing the play as AVC pushed the ball to the Knights' basket.
"With (SDCC's) size, they're the tallest team in the state of California, they're a handful to deal with," Taylor said. "I thought we did a really good job taking their advantage away. They got us with some baskets late, but overall I think we did a really good job."
Following 49 total called fouls, plus all the tumbles of the night, whether it was on offensive fouls, blocking fouls, loose balls, layup attempts, etc., only one team was left standing: AVC.
The Marauders' physicality and ability to withstand a furious charge from San Diego City College will allow them to see another day.
The Marauders' next game is on Wednesday either at San Bernardino or at home against Citrus. Time to ice up and cure those bruises.
"We gave no quarter," Taylor said. "Hat's off to our team, and to their team."
Feb. 26, 2016
LANCASTER - Chris Martin hit the floor for what seemed like the 100th time a player got close and personal with the hardwood on Friday night, and for once a coach didn't demand that a foul be called.
"It might be the most physical game we've played (this season)," the Antelope Valley College guard said.
In his haste to get back into the second half of a second-round game of the CCCAA SoCal Regional playoffs against San Diego City College, Martin had simply stumbled on his way to the scorer's table, drawing light laughter from the home supporters.
But in a laboring 87-83 grind-out win that catapulted the Marauders (24-6) to round 3 against either San Bernardino or Citrus, it was all intense, serious business as AVC and San Diego City (22-8) traded almost as many body checks as baskets.
In the end, however, thanks to Martin's 14 points and Cory Dollarhide's 19, 14 of them after halftime, the bruised Marauders out-toughened the taller Knights and kept their home record intact at 11-0 and moved on.
"We like to play physical, that's what we're about," Dollarhide said.
With bodies flying everywhere but refs electing to be selective on their foul calls, the Marauders used a 29-12 run in which they didn't allow a field goal by SDCC for 11 minutes to take a 38-24 lead with 2:13 to go in the first half.
At halftime, the Knights were shooting 29 percent and had assisted on two baskets, but were only down 42-31 thanks to making 11 of 13 free-throw attempts.
"We're too small not to play physical, we have to," AVC head coach John Taylor said. "Our guys bought into that and we'll take a few fouls here and there as long as we set the tone."
The Marauders never lost the lead in the second half, but the Knights came awfully close to grabbing it time after time.
A Spencer Mattox layup cut AVC's lead to 51-49 with 13:26 to go in the game, but the Marauders responded with a 7-2 run to give themselves some breathing room.
But SDCC simply wouldn't go away. After a layup and a free throw form Kenneth Moffett (11 points) with 8:10 to go, AVC led 65-57, and the feeling was the Marauders had pulled away for good. However, a 7-1 Knight run shortly after made it a two-point game again.
The theme continued through the rest of the half, but a Dollarhide layup with 34 seconds to go and four big free throws by Martin and two from Joseph Moorer down the stretch kept the Knights from ever fully completing their charge.
"Absolutely, it was a great game," Taylor said. "We took their best shots, they took our best shots and at the end we were fortunate to be on top."
Said Martin: "I felt like we kept our composure and we were able to push through their run."
For SDCC, 7-foot freshman Leonard Allen scored a game-high 21 points, many of them on alley-oop layups and dunks against the shorter Marauders, and 6-foot-11 freshman Alex Wilbourn added 14 points. Guard Taylor Nelson scored 19.
By design, the Marauders played physically and up-tempo. In multiple occasions, a winded Allen could be seen trailing the play as AVC pushed the ball to the Knights' basket.
"With (SDCC's) size, they're the tallest team in the state of California, they're a handful to deal with," Taylor said. "I thought we did a really good job taking their advantage away. They got us with some baskets late, but overall I think we did a really good job."
Following 49 total called fouls, plus all the tumbles of the night, whether it was on offensive fouls, blocking fouls, loose balls, layup attempts, etc., only one team was left standing: AVC.
The Marauders' physicality and ability to withstand a furious charge from San Diego City College will allow them to see another day.
The Marauders' next game is on Wednesday either at San Bernardino or at home against Citrus. Time to ice up and cure those bruises.
"We gave no quarter," Taylor said. "Hat's off to our team, and to their team."