No. 7 Giants men's basketball stomps Reedley to move to 2-0 in CVC

By Nick Giannandrea

COS ATHLETICS

College of the Sequoias men's basketball team had to dig out of an early hole – losses in its first two games – during its quest to win the Central Valley Conference championship last season.

Through two games a year later, the state No. 7-ranked Giants find themselves tied for the pole position in pursuit of their fifth straight CVC title following a 103-60 steamrolling of Reedley on Jan. 11 at Porter Field House.

Sequoias (13-3, 2-0) shares the early CVC lead with No. 18 Columbia (12-4, 2-0).

But as Giants coach Dallas Jensen pointed out, a quick start in conference play doesn't guarantee a title, not with plenty of challenges ahead, starting with a home game set for 7 p.m. Jan. 15 against Lemoore (5-11, 1-1).

"We're excited about it, but like I just told the team, we have some really tough games coming up with Lemoore and Merced and Fresno and Columbia," Giants coach Dallas Jensen said. "These are really, really good basketball teams that can beat us on any given night. Any given night. So I think right now, we are just solely focused on us and just trying to play that one game that's in front of us."

Sequoias cruised to its fifth straight win overall on a night when it shot 46.3 percent from the field while making 19 3-pointers. This after the Giants shot 53.6 percent from the field and made 22 3-pointers during a conference-opening 127-45 win at Coalinga on Jan. 8.

"We've shot it well the last two games," Jensen said. "I don't know that I've ever – playing or coaching – seen 41 threes over a two-game span. And the thing I love on top of that is we're sharing the basketball. Guys are passing up good shots to get great shots."

Reedley (5-11, 1-1) played it close through most of the first half, trailing by six (29-23) with 6 minutes and 8 seconds to play before halftime following a layup by Malachi Richardson.

But Sequoias took control with a 19-2 first half-closing run that featured three 3--pointers by Kevin Anderson (Atlanta).

Anderson's 3-pointer with 39 seconds remaining – off an assist from Jayson Mathews (Sacramento) sent the Giants into halftime with a 48-25 lead.

The Giants opened the second half with an 11-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Tyree Gill (Sacramento) at the 18:05 mark – as they surged ahead by 34 points (59-25).

Sequoias' lead would swell to a high point of 43 points – the game's final margin – on a rebound and dunk by Ahmed Clark (Atlanta) with 33 seconds left.

Jensen was pleased with Sequoias' defense after it limited an opponent to 60 or few points for the second straight game.

"I thought it was a good win," Jensen said. "We're starting to get to the point where we're able to guard 94 feet, but still be very sharp defensively in the half court. And I think that's been something we've really been focusing on, spending a lot more time on just being sharp on the defensive end."

Gill led the Giants with 24 points, sinking 6 of his 11 3-point attempts. Gill also contributed five rebounds, four assists and a steal.

Anderson, who was making his second straight start after starting the season as a reserve, finished with 20 points while making 6 of 13 3-pointers. He also had five rebounds and three assists.

Jaden Haire (Hanford West) delivered 16 points, a team-leading eight rebounds, two steals and an assist; Davis White (Santa Clarita) had 12 points, five rebounds and three assists; while Raydon Thorson (Queen Creek, Ariz.) recorded a seven of Sequoias' 25 assists while also producing three points, four rebounds and a steal.

Leyton McGovern (Anderson, Ind.), who has moved into a reserve role after opening the season as a starter, provided a spark off the bench with 11 points, six rebounds, two steals and an assist.

Sequoias also received eight points, six rebounds, two steals and an assist from Clark; five points, five assists, two steals and a rebound from Mathews; and four points, six rebounds and a block from Cameron Kelly (Decatur, Ga.).

"Kevin's done a great job. He's still working on some things defensively to get to where we want him to be, but he gives us a little bit extra punch on the offensive end and an additional ball handler,"  Jensen said. "And we love Leyton's energy off the bench. We think he's a great sixth man right now that can come and play any position and provide a spark and some punch. So it's just been a good dynamic the last couple of games."

After hosting Lemoore, the Giants will play their next two games on the road: at 5 p.m. Jan. 18 at Fresno (8-8, 1-1) and at 7 p.m. Jan. 22 at Merced (9-7, 1-1).

Sequoias is scheduled to host CVC co-leading Columbia at 7 p.m. Jan. 29.