East Los Angeles College freshman guard Jermaine Small-Camacho drives towards the lane as freshman guard Brian Simmons looks on in an 89-75 win vs. West LA College.

Posted: Jan 14, 2017

ELAC ends non-conference with 89-75 win

MONTEREY PARK, CA — The state’s No. 11-ranked (Massey Ratings) East Los Angeles College Huskies men’s basketball team finished its non-conference portion of the 2016-17 schedule 13-4 overall with an 89-75 win against No. 22 West LA College.

South Coast Conference North Division teams went 2-1 for the day in the initial Reggie Morris Showcase at LA Southwest College.

The Huskies won the nightcap against West LA (11-7); No. 14 Chaffey College (14-6) won a 79-59 game against Santa Monica College (8-10) and Rio Hondo College (8-10) lost 78-58 to No. 8 Cerritos College (14-3).

The first half of ELAC’s win produced 13 lead changes and 5 ties. ELAC’s largest lead was 24-19 from a sophomore guard Chandler Redix (Cathedral HS) jump shot with 8:51 remaining in the half. Redix, who led the Huskies in scoring with 22 points, scored a team-high seven first-half points.

West LA’s largest lead was 36-32 with 28 seconds left, and then the Cougar defense held the Huskies without a shot attempt for the remainder of the half.

West LA’s first-half scoring leaders included sophomore guard Craig Owens with nine points and eight points each from two freshman forwards, Prince Obeni-Bottan (IPAM HS, France) and Evan Burton (LA HS).

ELAC began the second half with a 9-2 run ending with a sophomore guard Zeno Lake (Compton HS) turn around jump shot off the glass, then a Redix drive to the rim for a 41-38 lead with 17:08 left in the game.

After a 41-41 tie, ELAC exploded for a 14-2 run that culminated with a Redix floater, in the paint, for a 55-43 lead with 14:38 remaining. West LA responded with a 6-2 run.

ELAC then slowed the pace, which resulted in a 17-6 run that quieted the Cougar crowd. The run began with a sophomore forward Zavier Harris (Temecula HS) two-point inside finish and ended with a Lake slam-dunk (assist Redix). ELAC led 74-55 with 6:36 left in the game.

The Huskies outscored West LA 57-39 in the second half. They regrouped and connected on most of its second half shot attempts. The Huskies connect 50.1 percent of their shots, best in the state.

“We had to figure out how to stop them in transition and move the ball a little bit better,” said ELAC Head Coach John Mosley. “Once we got our defense set, we were able to get back and guard them a little better.”

Unofficial Husky scoring results included 21 points (2-of-3 from the line) from ELAC freshman forward Roderick Williams (Price HS), who was in foul trouble early on and had limited playing time. Redix was 6-of-7 from the line.

Lake added 10 points to his stellar defensive play as did sophomore guard Sequan Walker (LB Cabrillo HS). Freshman guard Frank Bertz (Sultana HS) scored nine points.

The Huskies begin their second portion of the season with SCC North Division play beginning next week. “We have a battle on Wednesday,” said Mosley. “The pre-season is over and our record is 0-0 now. We’re making progress; we still have a long way to go.”

ELAC hosts No. 23 Mt. San Antonio College (10-7) on Wednesday, Jan. 18 in the South Gym at 5 p.m. then plays at Rio Hondo on Friday, Jan. 20 at 5 p.m.

Three teams are favored to win the SCC North championship according to the CCCAA—ELAC, Mt. SAC and Chaffey. LA Trade Tech (9-8) is having its best season in years. Pasadena City enters SCC North play at 5-12 overall.

Chaffey and Rio Hondo transferred to the SCC North from the Foothill Conference. No. 2 ECC Compton Center left the SCC North to join the SCC South.

story submitted by Tadzio Garcia