Eduardo Miranda
The Daily Independent
In the second game of a five-game homestand, the Cerro Coso men's basketball team welcomed Antelope Valley College to the Dr. Raymond A. McCue Athletic Complex. The Coyotes, in the midst of a five-game losing streak, had another great opportunity to snap the losing streak, forcing double overtime against the Marauders.
But the same mistakes of giving up too many offense rebounds for second chances, turnovers, and defensive lapses hurt the Coyotes in a 99-93 loss. The Coyotes had chances to win the game in regulation and in the first overtime, but failed to execute the half-court offense. In the second overtime, giving up offensive rebounds and second chances gave a good shooting team like Antelope Valley to build a cushion and hold on to the win.
"It's tough. It's mentally tough. We fought hard but came up short. We weren't good enough," said head coach Chris Dugan.
Cerro Coso went into the half trailing 41-35 with the visitors' primary offensive weapon being the three-point shot, including hitting five to start the game. The Coyotes offense looked to develop a presence in the paint with the home team looking for Issiakoi Aminou in the post. And at the start he showed his ability to bully his opponent and get down low for an easy layup.
But the times the Coyotes offense looked the best was not in the half-court or running plays, but when the players where able to grab a defensive rebound and run at the Marauders unset half-court defense. That allowed Demarris Day, Jay Matthews, and Terrance Sims Jr. to attack the paint for either a drive and dish to a shooter in the corner, a layup, or even a layup with an and-one.
In the second half, the Coyotes benefitted from the Marauders' shooting cooling off according to Dugan.
"They shot 26% coming into year and we don't guard anyone. On zone you need to learn to get a hand up and know who the shooter is. But it doesn't matter how we guard or what we do because we have guys that are incapable of doing it. Whatever we tell the game plan, there was no adjustment made, honestly. AVC just stopped making shots because it's percentages. They shot 70% in the first half from the three," he said.
The Marauders continued to create open looks from the corner three but began to miss those looks they made in the first half. That allowed the Coyotes to cut into the deficit. A layup by Aminou cut the deficit to one, 41-40. But the Coyotes allowed the Marauders to go on a 7-0 run with the visitors making a contested three and getting into the lane.
Trailing 48-42, the Coyotes made a run with Matthews scoring a layup after grabbing an airball. Arki Thorton Jr. hit a jumper from the elbow, and a layup from Day after a steal cut the deficit to two and forced the visitors to call a timeout. Antelope Valley scored after the timeout to stop the run, but Cerro Coso continued to stay within striking distance after Matthews made a layup and made the free throw to complete the and-one.
The Coyotes and Marauders exchanged run after run until the visitors took a 76-71 lead with less than four minutes left. Day cut the deficit to two with an open three, and Aminou used a spin move with a high bank shot to tie the game at 76-76 with 1:13 left. The Marauders hit a three-pointer on the next possession, and the Coyotes responded with Day going to the line and hitting both his free throws with 11 seconds left. Antelope Valley went one-for-two from the free-throw line to lead 80-78 with six seconds and called a timeout. Day ran down the full court and was fouled. He went to the line and hit both his free throws to send the game to overtime at 80-80.
The Coyotes took only their second lead of the game after Day hit a midrange fadeway jump shot at 82-80. But the lead was short-lived with Antelope Valley going down and scoring on back-to-back possessions including getting the fifth foul on Aminou. Cerro Coso trailed 84-82, until Sims found Day for a three and a one-point lead, 85-84. But Antelope Valley responded with a three of its own, forcing Dugan to call a timeout trailing 87-85. With seven seconds left in overtime, Day attacked the lane and found Matthews open for a floater to tie the game at 87-87 and send the game to a second overtime.
Antelope Valley started the second overtime with an open look from behind the arc to take a 90-87 lead. Matthews was fouled on a shot attempt but hit only one of two from the charity stripe, cutting the deficit to two. After a layup from the visitors, Sims was fouled attacking the rim, but he missed both his free throws. Dugan called a timeout with two minutes left after an open three from Antelope Valley to extend its lead over Cerro Coso to 95-88. Day hit a contested three to cut the deficit to 95-91 and give the Coyotes a hope of making a final push. But the Marauders held the Coyotes to a free throw attempt by Sims in the final minute to secure a 97-93 win over the Coyotes.
Cerro Coso is off until the weekend when it hosts the Coso Classic, a two-day tournament. On Saturday the tournament begins with Victor Valley facing Sequoias at 3 p.m. Palo Verde takes on Mira Costa in the second game at 5 p.m. Cerro Coso closes the first day hosting Pasadena City at 7 p.m.
The final day of the Coso Classic begins with Pasadena City facing Palo Verde at noon. Mira Costa and Victor Valley take to the hardwood at 2 p.m. The Coyotes close the classic hosting Sequoias at 4 p.m.
Dugan spoke on his team's mentality in the midst of a six-game losing streak with three games left in a five-game homestand, one he admits is not going to get any easier for his team.
"Hey, it's honorable to lose – I don't believe in that. You lost. Why don't you learn from winning, right? That's just my mindset. It's all the same things we have talked about that we have to do. And we are not doing them. We are not. We have deficiencies, which it's OK to have deficiencies. But I hope the guys stay the course and want to get better. You want to get better and have a desire, because as a staff and as a group, we are coming in every single day to put us in a place to be successful, but it's tough. It's really tough. You can't want it for the guys. There are some guys like Jay Matthews, he is fighting on one leg. He is playing his butt off, and there are some guys who are really competing. Other guys who are washed. I feel bad for that kid because he is laying it out there. He is 65% on a hurt leg," he said.
He continued to emphasize the importance of practice for his team made up of young players learning to play at the collegiate level. He added taking practice seriously is the only place where they can start to turn around the deficiencies of this squad from not being able to execute, bad shot selection, rebounding, and more. But it's a desire that has to come from his guys.
Another thing he wants them to take from it is to enjoy this time as well.
He said, "as I've gotten older – basketball has been my life, and now I have a family and I have a son. So now I value time. The older I've gotten, I value time. I value time with my brother-in-law, my family, and so as a young kid you think as you get older you have a lot of time and your career will be over. I try to tell them to enjoy this as you are a college athlete because being an adult sucks sometimes. You can't just be a college student. Even when we are losing, my worst day as a coach is still better than any other day."