After 14 tries, Griffins get win No. 1

By Nick Pellegrino
Updated: December 20, 2018

By Nick Pellegrino
East County Sports staff writer

EL CAJON (12-20-2018) – The hopes for a first victory of the season by the Grossmont College basketball team nearly faded away.

Almost.

A foul with two seconds remaining allowed visiting Los Angeles Harbor College, trailing by a point, to win Wednesday’s (Dec. 19) non-conference at the foul line.

Foul shot No. 1 was good, but following a Griffins timeout, the second shot missed to force the ballgame into overtime.

And in the extra session, Grossmont finally assumed full control for the first time all season, coming away with a 75-70 overtime triumph over the Seahawks. The G-House snapped a season-long, 13-game skid.

Griffins forwards Josh Burton scored half of Grossmont’s 10 points in the extra session, Chris Moyer and Lamon Hudson also made foul shots in the final 16 seconds.

Except for an early 30-second span in the first half, Grossmont led the entire contest, holding a lead of 12 points. But it wouldn’t be that easy to clinch Victory No. 1.

Harbor guard Henry Johnson finished with a career-high 32 points to forge the comeback to tie. But he was shut out in overtime, running out of gas by playing all 45 minutes despite holding four fouls. including two in the first 12 minutes.

The Seahawks also hurt themselves by going a mere 9-for-19 at the foul line, including the key miss to end regulation.

Meanwhile, Grossmont received balanced scoring, as Josh Peloquin and Hudson scored 11 points each, while Jamal Johnson shot a perfect 4-for-4 as part of his 9 points.

The Griffins also held a 53-38 rebounding advantage, as Hudson and Burton registered 9 boards each. Peloquin added 8 boards and Chris Moyer had 7. For Hudson, it was a career-high, as was his 5 assists in his best outing of the season.

L.A. Harbor fell to 6-5 overall.

Cypress 64, Cuyamaca 51; At Cypress, a fast allowed the Coyotes to take surprising leads of 5-0 and 12-6 on the host Chargers. However, Cypress answered with a 31-17 run to close the half, pulling away to take a non-conference triumph at Don Johnson Court.

Cuyamaca sophomore guard Frankie Gutierrez (Santana) recorded team-highs of 16 points and 10 rebounds. Included were 13 first-half points, but when the Chargers clamped down on him, none of his teammates could pick-up the slack.

Cypress (9-3) held a plus-11 rebounding advantage. Kae’jon Barnes led the Gauchos with 15 points and 9 rebounds, while Mike Magee was right behind him at 14 points and 8 boards.

The Coyotes (1-13) have now lost 43 of their last 45 ballgames.

No. 9 Saddleback 83, MiraCosta 50: At Mission Viejo, In a matchup of clubs with 7-6 records, an expected close contest became a romp for the host Gauchos at Brummel Gymnasium. Saddleback built a quick 23-12 lead, with the Spartans never making a run due to dismal shooting in the non-conference game.

MiraCosta shot a season-low 26 percent (17-64) from the floor, ng in double figures.

Saddleback saw Ryan Beddeo and Sean Birk lead the scoring parade with 11 points each, while Shawn Stith added 10. The Gauchos are ranked No. 9 in Southern Cafiornia by Signal The Light Basketball.

STLB Rankings:
SoCal Week 7
1. Fullerton 12-1
2. East L.A. 7-2
3. Mt. San Jacinto 13-1
4. Allan Hancock 10-2
5. Cerritos 10-2
6. Long Beach 10-2
7. Southwestern 10-4
8. Miramar 10-2
9. Saddleback 7-6
10. San Bernardino Valley 7-4
11. L.A. Trade Tech 8-2
12. Chaffey 8-3
13. Citrus 7-5
14. Riverside 7-5
15. Pasadena 7-4