Comets stun Spartans; City tops Mesa; Jags crush Griffs

By Nick Pellegrino
Updated: January 31, 2019

San Diego Mesa following the loss to San Diego City on Wednesday.

2019 COMMUNITY COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL

East County Sports staff report

SAN MARCOS (1-31-2019) – On a night when San Bernardino Valley scored a mild surprise by upending Mt. San Jacinto for the North Division lead in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference basketball race, MiraCosta had a chance to move among the tandem to challenge for the crown.

However, the Spartans also fell, not only to their North County rivals but a team on a long losing streak.

Palomar College, which had lost seven straight and not captured a ballgame in more than a month, took out some frustrations by derailing MiraCosta, 71-67, Wednesday (Jan. 20) at Palomar Dome.

The Comets held a 62-48 advantage at the 6-minute mark, then needed to hold on to stave a late Spartans rally. The lead was trimmed to 69-67 on a Marcus Foster layin with 41 seconds remaining.

Palomar called a timeout, but MiraCosta guard Xavier Allison stole the ball with 30 seconds left, giving the Spartans an opportunity to tie or go-ahead. However, the Spartans also committed a turnover to cap a poor performance, as Anthony Routh made a pair of free throws to seal the upset. Jacob Camargo led Palomar (7-14 overall, 1-3 PCAC) with 20 points. Jamario Harris added 16 points.

For MiraCosta (11-11, 2-2 PCAC), Devyian Roberson and Thomas Donati each totaled 14 points. Donati also grabbed 9 rebounds and blocked 4 shots.

Elsewhere, host Miramar downed College of the Desert, 74-64. No game information was reported by Miramar.

PCAC South
San Diego City 85, San Diego Mesa 75: In downtown San Diego, the host Knights carried a double-digit lead throughout most of the second half before the their 163 Freeway rivals made a run. The Olympians moved to within 69-68 at the 6-minute mark, but City answered with a 16-2 run to finally get past pesky Mesa.

The Olympians saw Joseph Davis score 8 points over a 5-minute stretch, then Cameron Hill converted consecutive shots from within the paint to get with a point.

However, City woke up just in time to avoid falling behind.

Nashom Carter answered with a 3-point basket, then Victor Irhirhi and Adrian Byrd-Jelinek scored on layins. And when Joseph Riley added two free throws, the advantage returned to 10 points.

For San Diego City (12-10 overall, 3-1 PCAC), Robby Robinson recorded game-highs of 18 points and 8 rebounds. Riley added 17 points and 4 assists, while Byrd-Jelinek and Carter had 14 points each.

Mesa (7-14, 3-1 PCAC) received a game-high 20 points from Hill on 10-for-11 shooting. According to an old Olympians record book (which is a bit dated), the shooting effort would/could equal a school mark set by James Robinson, an All-State player for Mesa from back in early 1970s.

Southwestern 82, Grossmont 49: At El Cajon, Tyler Simmons and H.J. Wilson each scored a game-best 16 points among five players in double figures, leading the South Division leading Jaguars to skate past the host Griffins.

Southwestern (18-4 overall, 4-0 PCAC) saw Wilson tally 9 of his pints in the first half, mounting a 44-22 cushion by the intermission. Wilson, a sophomore guard out of recently-closed Horizon Christian High, also registered a game-high 8 assists.

For Grossmont (3-19, 0-4 PCAC), Josh Peloquin collected 10 points to lead the Griffins. Meanwhile, forward Chris Moyer, who set a career-best with 9 rebounds against Imperial Valley in his last outing, set another career-standard with a game-high 10 boards.

Technically, SWC equaled a conference record by not making any foul shots, but it was a rout so not many fouls were called; the Jags were just 0-for-1 at the line.

Better, Southwestern had won 8 consecutive games. If they complete the first round of conference lay unbeaten — only San Diego Mesa and Cuyamaca are yet — the Jags would go exactly two months since their last setback. Grossmont, which had won 3-of-5 entering South Division play, has not dropped four straight.

Imperial Valley 74, Cuyamaca 71: At El Cajon; no report was issued by the host Coyotes.

EastCountySports.com