Giants rally past Reedley; host No. 9 Columbia on Jan. 22
By Nick Giannandrea
COS Athletics
Milton Burnett delivered again for College of the Sequoias' men's basketball team.
Coming off a season-high 27-point performance three days earlier, the Bullard High product sank a 3-pointer while getting fouled and converted the free throw in the closing seconds to lift the state No. 10-ranked Giants to a 77-75 Central Valley Conference win over Reedley on Jan 18 at Porter Field House.
COS (14-4, 3-1) overcame a four-point deficit with 1:37 left while remaining one-game behind CVC-leading Fresno City (15-3, 4-0) and tied with Columbia (17-1, 3-1) for second place heading into a showdown against the No. 9 Claim Jumpers on Jan. 22 at Porter Field House. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. with admission $5.
Burnett finished with 13 points while making 3 of 5 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc. He was 3 of 4 on 3-pointers while dropping his season high point total in COS' 108-64 victory at Merced on Jan. 15.
Savion Johnson (Hanford West) had his best overall game of the season for the Giants, contributing a team-leading 17 points along with 11 rebounds, six assists, three blocks and three steals. He was 6 of 10 from the field, and 2 of 3 on 3-pointers.
Ryan Johnson (Hanford) had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Tiyon Martin (Pasadena) had 14 points and five assists, Elihu Cobb (Santa Maria) had 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks, and Carlos Allen (Atlanta) added three points and seven rebounds for COS.
Uriah Carter's 22 points paced Reedley (11-7, 2-2).
After hosting Columbia, the Giants will play four straight road games: Jan. 25 at Porterville, Jan. 29 at West Hills-Lemoore, Feb. 1 at West Hills-Coalinga and Feb. 5 at Fresno City.
COS will return home to Porter Field House on Feb. 8 to host Merced at 5 p.m.
The Giants are seeking a third straight berth in the Northern California Regional Playoffs. Last season, COS reached the state's Elite Eight before losing to Citrus 70-59.
This season's Elite Eight tournament is set for March 13-15 at West Hills-Lemoore.
