Huskies' Last-Minute Comeback Upends Trade Tech on Sophomore Night

by Cerwin D Haynes

Coming into tonight, East LA College men's basketball knew that Los Angeles Trade Tech College would be coming into Monterey Park tonight looking to avenge their loss to ELAC three weeks ago. More importantly, with both teams tied for second-place in the South Coast Conference-North, the Huskies knew they had to keep the Beavers in their rear-view mirror to stay in second and secure a playoff spot. 

For 39 out of the 40 minutes of gameplay, it looked like Trade Tech was poised to end their 11+ year winless streak against the Pack and also deal a severe blow to ELAC's playoff resume. But the home Green (19-8, 6-3) stood tall in that final minute of play thanks to clutch defense and free-throw shooting, pulling out a literal last-minute comeback to turn down the Beavers (16-11, 5-4) 77-72. Freshman G Daniel Michelini-Jackson came off the bench to score 13 of his game-high 17 points in the second half, including going 6-6 at the free throw line over the final 43 seconds to give the Huskies the lead.

In the first half, LATTC set the tone by relentless attacking the lanes with their guards and kicking the ball around the perimeter to find open shooters. Both teams shot similarly from the field (14-33 for Trade to 13-31 for East LA), but the visitors outshot ELAC from behind the arc (5-11 vs 1-12 3FGs) and had an edge at the free-throw line 9-12 vs 5-10 FTs). With only one healthy point guard in the lineup, East had trouble matching Trade Tech's offensive aggression, turning the ball over eight times. Freshman F Dylan Godfrey tried to keep the Huskies on trek with eight points (4-7 FGs) and four rebounds in the half, but the home team ended up going into halftime down 10, 42-32.

The second half ultimately saw the Huskies improve their shooting, but they kept shooting themselves in the foot with more turnovers. That, and giving up offensive rebounds helped the Beavers offset a dip in their shooting percentages because they took more shots than ELAC (34 FG attempts to 20).  The deficit was still 10 points, 66-56, with 7:08 left - but that's when ELAC finally began to climb back.

Sophomore G Brandon Wilson got inside the paint to convert a layup at the 6:49 mark to cut Trade's lead to eight, 66-58. 50 seconds later, Wilson would foul Trade G Johnathan Fields and send him to the line, but Fields missed both freebies. Wilson would rebound the ball. Seventeen seconds later, sophomore G Shemar Morrow would find Michelini-Jackson behind the arc for a three-ball, and just like that, Trade Tech's lead was cut in half, 66-61 with 5:42 to go.

Morrow then got to work with his own scoring. After a Michelini-Jackson steal, Morrow hit a short jumper to cut Trade's advantage to 66-63. The Beavers would then miss two three-pointers on their next trip down the floor before Morrow got the rebound. The product out of Shadow Mountain HS found himself open on the right wing behind the arc, and decided to fling up a three. He canned it, and the Huskies tied the game for the first time since the opening minutes of the game, 66-66, with 3:49 left.

The Beavers answered that three with a three of their own, Omari Ferguson, to take back the lead at 69-66 with 3:20 left. Thankfully, the Pack had more left in the tank for the comeback trail: they would hold LATTC without a made basket for the next 3:17 while they made their final push. A tough Brandon Wilson inside basket trimmed the deficit to one, 70-69 with 1:20 left. Both teams battled defensively for a bit before Michelini-Jackson was able to draw a foul on Tech and take advantage of the visitors being over the foul limit. He would hit both free throws to give ELAC a 71-70 lead with 43 seconds left. The freshman from Lawndale, having battled injuries at different points during the season, seemed to be developing a knack for clutch play: On Trade Tech's next possession, he stole the ball on a scramble from G Jerome Smith and subsequently drew another foul with 11 seconds left. Two more at the line... and two more makes, extending the Green's late lead to 73-70. ELAC then played defensively to guard the three-point line, and forced G Jabril Jackson to drive inside the paint and convert a putback off an offensive rebound with three seconds left. East LA inbounded the ball to - who else - Michelini-Jackson, who was immediately fouled. He again calmly sank a pair of free throws to push the lead back to three with two seconds left.

In a fit of desperation, Ronnie Davis tried to quickly inbound the ball upcourt, but threw it out of bounds. He was then forced to foul Wilson on the inbound with a single second left. The Taft High School product sank both shots at the line to put the cap on the comeback.

HUSKY BITS

• Shemar Morrow scored nine of his ten points in the second half. He also had three rebounds and three assists.
• Five Huskies scored in double-digits: in addition to Morrow and Michelini-Jackson, Wilson had 12 points, sophomore G Jalai Okeith had 12, and Godfrey finished with 10.
• The Huskies shot 51% for the game versus 38.8% for LATTC. ELAC also had 18 assists on 26 made field goals. However, they had 22 turnovers which helped the Beavers take 16 more shots overall - this served as a major factor as to why Trade led most of the game.
  
  • To wit: ELAC shot a blistering 65% in the second half while holding Trade to 35.3%. That's usually a recipe for a blowout, but instead it took that, defense, and late clutch free-throw shooting to overcome the turnovers and their opponents.

HUSKY EXTRA BITS

This was a unique night to say the least:

• Before the game, both men and women's basketball held a moment of silence to honor the memory of longtime faculty member and head of ELAC Allied Health, Dr. Monica Thurston. Dr. Thurston passed away last Sunday, and she was a big supporter of ELAC Basketball.
• After that tribute, the men held their Sophomore Night ceremonies by honoring their nine graduating second-year guys: Morrow, Wilson, Okeith, Javion Langston, Gregory Melvin, Jeremiah Calhoun, Eli Cofield, Hassan Hughey and Baker Beal.
• ELAC Women's Basketball was set to host LATTC as well after then men, but the game was cancelled yesterday due to a lack of players for Trade. So ELAC women's head coach Bruce Turner held their Sophomore Night ceremony at halftime. Lupe Vazquez, Adriana Solorzano, Karis Saguchi, Makaia Smith and Sasha Capers were all honored.
• There was a significant stoppage in play during the first half. One of LATTC's assistant coaches suffered an undisclosed injury that required medical attention. After that was tended to, a lighting issue caused a portion of the gym ceiling lights to short out.
• UPDATE: the women's cancelled game has now been changed to a forfeit win awarded to ELAC. This is good news for Coach Bruce Turner's crew as the extra win should boost their playoff resume.

UP NEXT:

The men will finish their regular season at LA City on Friday at 5pm. Playoff seeding expected to be announced sometime on Sunday.