Arabs win, get Mt. San Jacinto next

By Nick Pellegrino
Updated: January 8, 2019

2019 COMMUNITY COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL

EastCountySports.com staff report

PALM DESERT (1-9-2019) – In a meeting of two ballclubs in need of just a small, modest win streak to make a dent in the Southern California rankings, Imperial Valley took the first step forward with a mild upset, taking down host College of the Desert, 91-77, in Tuesday’s Pacific Coast Athletic Conference North-South Challenge match.

Imperial Valley guard Alvin Martin registered 14 of his game-high 20 points in the first half on 7-for-9 shooting, pacing the Arabs to a 46-38 lead at the half. And when guard Timberland Mills added 10 of his 13 points in the second half, including 7-for-7 shooting at the foul line, Desert was unable to make a substantial challenge to get back into the contest.

“Execution was good today,” said Arabs head coach Andrew Robinson. “We followed the scout and game plan and executed what we needed.”
Both teams are now one game under .500 with 10 days remaining before official PCAC contests commence. IVC is now 7-8 overall, traveling to No. 3 ranked Mt. San Jacinto (13-2) on Saturday; COD is 8-9, hosting Cuyamaca (3-14) on Friday.

Imperial Valley easily posted season-highs at the foul line, making 30-of-41 free throws in a foul-fest which “featured” 54 fouls (28 on COD). The Roadrunners were just 17-of-29 *60.7 percent), further hampering their comeback efforts.

The Arabs took an early 14-6 and 20-8 leads, expanding the margin to 32-17 midway through the first half by keeping Desert scoreless over a span of 4:18.

Desert center Pete Nicholas keyed a late run with a blocked shot, then receiving a pass on the fast break for a layin to move within 46-42, but IVC quickly pushed the lead back into double figures thnks to a 10-0 run early in the second half.

The Arabs saw five players score in double figures. The others were Maurice White (17), Javon Nutter (13, 9-11 FTs), and from off the bench, Martin Mendez (12, all on triples).

For White, a sophomore from Dallas, it was a near triple-double. Along with his scoring, the guard posted 10 assists, 8 steals and 5 rebounds. Nutter, with 12 boards, also posted a double-double.

Desert saw Nicholas Pete led the team with 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the floor, while Riley Welch and Christian Briceno each added 12.

Note: College of the Desert Media Relations contributed to this report.

Pacific Coast Athletic Conference
North-South Challenge
Standings thru Tue., Jan. 8

MEN’S BASKETBALL	Coference	Overall
NORTH DIVISION	W	L	W	L
Mt. San Jacinto San Bernaridno Valley Miramar MiraCosta Desert Palomar	1 6 2 2 2 1	1 0 4 2 2 3	13 11 11 9 8 6	2 5 7 8 9 9

SOUTH DIVISION
Southwestern San Diego City Imperial Valley San Diego Mesa Cuyamaca Grossmont	5 3 3 1 1 0	0 1 1 2 4 5	12 9 7 3 2 2	4 8 9 13 14 15