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Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010
Men's basketball: Williams block seals Merced College win
Bill Russell knew he had to make a change coming out of a timeout.
West Hills guard Jason Hall single-handedly shot his team back into the game in the second half.
Merced College's once comfy double-digit lead was down to one with 50 seconds to play and there was no doubt in Russell's mind who'd be shooting the ball as the Falcons attempted to take their first lead of the game.
Russell inserted forward JerMichael Williams into the bottom right of the Blue Devils' 3-2 zone, in perfect position to get out to the left wing where Hall had been perched for much of the second half.
As the ball swung around the perimeter, Williams managed to fight through a screen at the last second.
The MC sophomore leaped at the perfect time and got just enough of Hall's attempted 3 to deflect it into Logan Wiens' hands.
The Blue Devils hit enough free throws down the stretch to secure the 56-53 Central Valley Conference victory on Wednesday night.
"It's hard to maintain the kind of defensive intensity we had in the first half and when you shoot the 3, you're never out of any game," Russell said. "I was very pleased with how the kids gave great effort and battled until the end."
MC took a 26-13 lead into intermission thanks to some stellar defense and the interior work of Fred King (12 points) and Glen Ayers (seven).
The Blue Devils maintained a double-digit lead for much of the second half.
Wiens connected on a 3 to put MC up 41-30 with eight minutes to play, but West Hills stormed back.
After struggling against the Blue Devils' zone for most of the night, Hall (26 points) found his range.
He hit five of his seven 3-pointers in the second half, including one that cut MC's lead to 50-49 with 1:50 to play.
The two teams exchanged free throws and MC's Steven Diaz had a 3-attempt clank off the back of the iron to give West Hills a shot at the lead.
The Blue Devils hit 18 of 25 free throws in the game, including 6 of 8 down the stretch.
Wiens finished off his team-high 13-point performance with a pair of free throws to give MC a three-point lead with two seconds to play.
At Merced College
WEST HILLS -- Josh Lopez 2, Allen Mkrtychyan 4, Rylan Whilden 7, Jason Hall 26, Randel Guillory 12, Isaac Kinlow 2. Totals: 17 10-18 53.
MERCED COLLEGE -- Alonzo Sharpe 8, John Lowe 4, Steven Diaz 4, Bryan Moore 3, Charles Coleman 2, Fred King 12, JerMichael Williams 3, Logan Wiens 13, Glen Ayers 7. Totals: 17 18-25 56.
3-pointers: West Hills 9 (Hall 7, Guillory 2), Merced 4 (Wiens 3, Moore); Rebounds: West Hills 32 (Hall 8), Merced 24 (Lowe 5); Assists: Merced 9 (Lowe 4); Steals: Merced 7 (Diaz 3); Total Fouls: West Hills 21, Merced 11; Foul Outs: West Hills (Kinlow).
Halftime Score: Merced College 26-13.
Records: West Hills 2-4 CVC, 9-12; Merced College 3-3 CVC, 6-13.
West Hills' Rylan Whilden got off a half-court heave at the buzzer, but threw up an air ball.
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