Giants bolster CVC men's basketball lead; travel to Merced next
By Nick Giannandrea
COS ATHLETICS
College of the Sequoias' chances of ending a long Central Valley Conference men's basketball title drought have improved significantly on two fronts.
First, the state No. 9-ranked Giants rode 37 points, seven steals, six rebounds, two assists and a block from Ryan Johnson (Hanford High) to a 99-62 blowout of 19-time reigning CVC champion Fresno City on Feb. 2 at Porter Field House. Sequoias (18-4, 7-1) moved ahead of the second-place and No. 23-ranked Rams (10-7, 4-2) by a game in the loss column.
Second, No. 4-ranked and third-place Columbia, the only team to defeat Sequoias in conference play, lost its third CVC game when it fell 69-58 at No. 29 Porterville.
In their quest to win the CVC championship for the first time since 2001, the Giants now hold a two-game lead on both Fresno City and Columbia with six games to play.
Sequoias resumes CVC play Feb. 5 at Merced (6-15, 4-4). Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
"I feel like we're trending in the right direction. We're playing good basketball right now," Giants coach Dallas Jensen said. "The boys enjoy playing with each other. I think they know the expectations of our coaching staff, and they are invested in winning. That to me is not always easy at the junior college level. But they really understand that the more they win, the more opportunities all of them have to move on if they are handling business in the classroom, which they all are. I like where we're at. But at the same time, we've got to come out ready to play on (Feb. 5)."
Against Fresno City, the Giants overcame an early 10-point deficit (12-2) while winning their fifth straight game.
Johnson and Scott Ator (Murphy, Texas) each scored eight points and Seth Dawson (Antioch) had four assists during a 21-11 Sequoias run that saw it pull into a 23-23 tie with 5:32 remaining in the first half.
"We started off kind of slow a little bit, it was a dog fight," said Dawson, who just missed posting a triple-double with 14 points, 11 assists, nine rebounds, a block and a steal. "And then we were able to hit some shots and take the lead. It was a good win for us."
Behind 11 more points from Johnson, the Giants outscored Fresno City 18-1 the rest of the way to build a 41-24 lead at halftime.
Sequoias scored the first eight points of the second half, including consecutive 3-pointers by Johnson and Ator, and were not seriously threatened the rest of the way.
The Giants' lead surpassed 30 points (68-37) on a layup by Bryce Fitzgerald (Las Vegas) with 12:54 to play, and their advantage ballooned to 37 points (99-62) on an Andre Treadwell (Sacramento) shot with 1:52 left.
Ator finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
Sequoias also received 13 points, four rebounds and an assist from Fitzgerald; eight points, four rebounds, four assists and a steal from Conner Jackson (Dublin); and five points, three steals, a rebound and an assist from Terri Miller (Clovis North).
"Our shot selection was a little bit quick coming out to start the game," Jensen said. "They got us into a track meet early on, where we really want to rely on paint touches, whether it's scored around the bucket, or drive and kick for our perimeter shots. I thought early on it was first touch and we were shooting jumpers, which just isn't our brand of basketball. Once we simplified the game and did the things we wanted and played to our strengths, I thought we played really well."
The Giants have three games looming next week when they play at Fresno City at 6 p.m. Feb. 7, host Reedley at 5 p.m. Feb. 9 and host Columbia at 3 p.m. Feb. 12.
