No. 20 Giants falter late in overtime of men's basketball loss to No. 6 Citrus
By Nick Giannandrea
COS ATHLETICS
College of the Sequoias men's basketball team allowed an opportunity to pull a major rankings upset slip away -- literally.
The California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches' Association state No. 20-ranked Giants committed three of their season-high 32 turnovers in the final 40 seconds of overtime to allow No. 6 Citrus to rally for an 82-78 nonconference victory Jan. 2 at Porter Field House.
It's Sequoias' second straight loss to a ranked opponent after falling at No. 16 Ventura 78-76 on Dec. 30.
"Our whole spiel coming out of the Ventura loss was toughness, and there are some guys who still need to get a heck of a lot tougher," Giants coach Dallas Jensen said. "This group just has to get physically and mentally tougher. That's literally all it comes down to with this group. Until we make a concentrated effort to do that as individuals and as a team, the end results won't change against good teams."
The first of the final three turnovers led to a layup by the Owls' Leo Ricketts that tied the score 78-78 with 25 seconds to play.
The second -- a 5 seconds violation on an in-bounds pass -- was followed by Dev Hamilton's off-balance floater off the glass with 3.2 seconds remaining that put the Owls ahead 80-78.
The third -- off a tipped in-bounds pass which happened simultaneously to an inadvertent horn -- was picked up and put in by Hamilton to push the score out of reach with 1.5 seconds left.
"We just don't make big plays when it matters the most," Jensen said. "This has been happening to us all year."
Sequoias (9-5) appeared headed toward the upset when it went ahead by six points (76-70) on a dunk by Zaquien Whitehead (Columbus, Ga.) off an assist from Cameron Kelly (Atlanta) with 2:01 to play in overtime.
But Citrus (13-1) outscored the Giants 12-2 the rest of the way. Sequoias twice committed fouls on 3-point attempts by the Owls, a cardinal sin when ahead late in a game.
"I thought we were in complete control of the game up six with 2 minutes left and possession, and we're fouling 3-point shooters," Jensen said. "We're turning the ball over. We're not rebounding off missed free throws. We don't make free throws. (Citrus) did a great job competing down the stretch, but I also thought we gifted that one away."
The lead changed hands five times and there were four ties before the Giants emerged with a 35-33 lead at halftime.
Sequoias' surged to the game's largest lead at eight points (43-35) on a basket by Kelly off an assist by Jayden Abuyen (Centennial High-Bakersfield) with 15:31 to play in the second half, capping an 8-3 second half-opening run.
The Giants' lead remained at eight points (58-50) following a basket by Javon Bragg (Corcoran High) off an assist from Mason Dorsey (Los Angeles) with 6:31 left.
Citrus then went on a 14-2 run to pull ahead 64-60 with 1:21 to go.
Kelly forced overtime when he sank a 3-pointer off a feed from Abuyen with 1 second left to make it 66-66.
"(Citrus is) maybe the best team in the state of California, I believed that coming into the game," Jensen said. "They have weapons all over the floor. They are extremely well coached and shoot the basketball extremely well.
"I thought when we did value possession, we could get whatever we wanted on the other end of the floor. But we had guys that were a little scared of the moment, unfortunately, and turned it over in big situations and big key moments of the game. As a coach, I was proud of the way they competed for the majority of the game, but really disappointed in the way they finished the game."
Kelly paced Sequoias with 19 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.
Whitehead delivered 18 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks, an assist and a steal off the bench.
The Giants also received 14 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks from Dorsey; eight points, nine rebounds, two steals and a block from QShawn On'gele (Portland, Ore.); eight points and two rebounds from Bragg; five points, two rebounds and an assist from Jamaal Phatty (Frankfurt, Germany); and four rebounds, two assists and a steal from Kareem Barnett (Miami).
Sequoias now turns its attention toward repeating as Central Valley Conference champions.
The Giants begin their quest for a seventh straight CVC title when they host Coalinga (2-12) at 5 p.m. Jan. 7.
