COD Men’s Basketball takes Eagles to overtime on 12 3-pointers, falls, 90-83

COD (1-21, 0-9) played a hard fought game, taking the Mt. San Jacinto Eagles (14-14, 6-3) into overtime on the back of 12 three-point baskets, but the game was lost on the boards as the Eagles had a 70-40 advantage over the Roadrunners and the home side fell, 90-83.

Particularly frustrating for the Roadrunners is the loss marks their eleventh loss by 11-points or less throughout the season, but Desert played above themselves in tonight's matchup, using eight Roadrunners compared to the Eagles twelve players.

While there was a great deal of similarities between these two teams, almost identical numbers from the field, Desert shot 39.7%, the Eagles shot 40%, Desert shot 56.5% (13-23) from the free throw line, compared to the Eagles 65.2% (15-23) and points in the paint, 28 apiece. The main difference between the two teams was stark, as the Roadrunners grabbed 40 total rebounds, compared to 70 total boards for Mt. San Jacinto. What kept Desert in the game was timely shooting and a fast paced defense, which forced the Eagles to cough up the basketball 17 times.

The game was closely contested throughout, as Mt. San Jacinto tried desperately to gain some distance, only to have a Roadrunner nail a three pointer or grab another Eagles turnover and magically turn that turnover into points. Freshman starting guard Andre Allen (Chino Don Lugo) hit his second three-pointer of the first half with 41 seconds left in the first half, to tie the game at 43-43. Both teams would go into the break, with the Eagles holding onto a narrow 44-43 lead.

Mt. San Jacinto would open the second half with a 10-2 run, forcing the Roadrunners to fight back and they did. Desert would go on a 9-0 run, capped off by another Allen three-pointer to tie the game at 54-54 with 13:35 left in the game. Then the Eagles tried to pull away again, but three-pointer by freshman forward Joseph Fowler (Rohnert Park Rancho Cotate) with 11:05 left, got the Roadrunners to within one-point, 60-59. Mt. San Jacinto would get out to a seven-point lead, 73-66, with 2:59 left in the game, but Desert would fight their way back again. The Roadrunners would go on a 9-2 run to tie the game again, this time at 75-75, with 41 seconds left. Both teams would exchange three-pointers, as the Eagles hit a three with 20 seconds left and Allen nailed an off balanced three-pointer with 7 seconds left to tie the game just before heading into overtime.

In the overtime period, the Eagles took an early lead and after Fowler hit both his free throws to tie the game at 80-80, Mt. San Jacinto would hit a final three point shot and Desert could not recover. After eleven ties throughout the course of the game, the Roadrunners had no more left in the tank. 

Allen would grab his second double-double of the season, with his eighth game of 20 points or better in a game, scoring 29 points on 9 of 18 shooting, including an amazing 5 of 10 from beyond the arc, and leading the team with ten boards, eight assists and snagging two steals.

Sophomore starting guard Philippe Salawa (Fontana AB Miller) had a great night as well, returning to the court for the first time since January 26th after an injury, he contributed 23 points on 9 of 20 shooting, including 3 of 8 from three-point range. It was Salawa's seventh game of 20 points or better on the year.

Freshman forward Arion Stevenson (Moreno Valley Canyon Springs) led all bench players with nine points on 4 of 13 shooting, grabbing two steals and a blocked shot and freshman forward Michael Juarez (Indio Shadow Hills) led the team in blocked shots with two on the evening.

The final game for the 2018 season for College of the Desert Men's Basketball will be at home on February 15th at 5p, where they will wrap-up Pacific Coast Athletic Conference-North Division (PCAC-North) against the Palomar Comets of San Marcos. If you are unable to make the game in person, follow the action live at CODathletics.com. Hope to see you there.

Photo by Rodrigo Pena (rigopena@yahoo.com)
Information, Photos & Story provided by COD Sports Information.