ELAC basketball defeats crosstown rivals 93-71
LOS ANGELES, CA — No. 16 state-ranked (CCCMBA poll) East Los Angeles College won a 93-71 South Coast Conference North Division game in front of a big crowd at LA Trade Tech.
It had been years since crosstown rivals ELAC (14-5, 2-1) and LA Trade Tech (10-9, 1-2) played with a conference title at reach for both teams.
Entering the game, each team was a game out of first place at 1-1 in the SCC North, behind conference leaders No. 17 Chaffey College (16-6, 2-0) and No. 14 Mt. SAC (12-7, 2-0).
ELAC won this first-of-two conference meeting between the two rivals with continuous passing and hustled defense that resulted in 46 rebounds and 17 assists. The Huskies connected 66.0 percent of their baskets and shot 58.3 percent from beyond the arc.
“The shots dropped, but it was our defensive play that won this game,” said sophomore forward Chima Wami (Corona Santiago High School).
The Huskies adjusted well to the return of players recovering from the flu bug season, which included freshman forward Roderick Williams (Price HS). Williams was one of four Huskies that scored in double figures with 13 points.
Sophomore guards Zeno Lake (Compton HS) and Chandler Redix (Cathedral HS) scored 22 and scored 18 points, respectively. Sophomore guard Sequan Walker (LB Cabrillo HS) scored 14 points.
The first half, typical of a rivalry game between these schools, included four lead changes and three ties. ELAC built leads of six points three times in the first 10 minutes, which Trade Tech followed with rallies that brought them within a point each time.
Trade Tech tied the score at 27-all with 8:55 left in the half. Down 31-28 with 7:40 left in the first half, ELAC rallied with a 16-1 run to lead that shushed the home crowd.
ELAC led, 44-32, at the 3:35 mark when sophomore guard Jesus Zesati (St. John Bosco HS) hit a 3-point swish from downtown. ELAC led 51-38 at the half.
A combination of ELAC’s defense with an offensive mix of hooks, no look passes and downtown shots kept the Huskies with double-digit leads for the remainder of the game.
Lake pulled down 13 rebounds for his fourth consecutive game with a double double. Walker hauled in eight rebounds, Wami seven.
Redix had a team-high four assists and two of ELAC’s blocked shots. Freshman guard Frank Bertz (Sultana HS) had the other blocked shot for the Huskies.
In other SCC North action tonight, Mt. SAC got by Rio Hondo (8-13, 0-3) 73-65 and Chaffey beat Pasadena City (5-15, 0-3) 100-75.
story submitted by Tadzio Garcia