Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer
Basketball Notches Men and Women Doubleheader Wins Over Trade Tech
Posted: Jan 26, 2023

Basketball Notches Men and Women Doubleheader Wins Over Trade Tech

by Cerwin D Haynes

 

 

Thanks to an clutch overtime play in the first game, and a balanced high-scoring attack in the second, East LA College basketball earned a women and men's doubleheader sweep of crosstown rival LA Trade Tech College.

 

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: ELAC 83, LATTC 76

In the front game, the ELAC women (6-17, 1-2) took a 46-40 lead into the fourth quarter and led as many as nine before the Beavers (12-10, 1-1) clawed back. Trade took the lead, 63-62, with 33 seconds left on a three-pointer by Amit Lustagarten. Sasha Capers would miss a point-blank layup which LATTC's Pamela Gonzalez rebounded with 11 seconds left. After a Trade Tech timeout, they inbounded the ball to Lustagarten. Knowing the Huskies needed to foul immediately to stop the clock, Gabrielle Quintana grabbed Lustagarten on the arm for the foul call. But Lustagarten took exception to Quintana's aggresiveness and threw the ball at her leg. It was thought that she would earn a technical foul which would've given ELAC two free throws, but the refs decided to assess double techs on her and Quintana (no free throws awarded). Lustagarten was awarded two free throws based on the initial foul by Quintana, but she would only make one of two to give ELAC a last chance to tie or win.

Huskies head coach Bruce Turner called a 30-second timeout and drew up the play. ELAC inbounded the ball in their frontcourt on the far sideline to Isabel Aranjo Gomez. The sophomore forward drove baseline past her defender, put up a layup, and got it to drop as she was hit on the arm for the and-1. The Leuzinger product tied the game with 1.4 left with the chance to hit the go-ahead free throw, but her attempt hit the front rim and bounced into the hands of a Beaver as time expired.

Determined to make up for missing the game-winning FT, Aranjo Gomez scored ELAC's first five points in the extra period to ultimate give East a 69-65 lead with 3:11 left. Quintana then took the reigns, scoring the game's next seven points (three-ball and four free-throws) to extend the lead to 76-65 with 2:03 left. The Green would keep Trade at arm's length the rest of the way.

Quintana led all scorers with 28 points. She only shot 5-22 from the field (4-19 3PTs), but she feasted at the charity stripe, hitting all 14 of her free throws. She also added seven rebounds and three assists. Aranjo Gomez scored 16 and added seven rebounds, fours assists, two steals and two blocks.

 

MEN'S BASKETBALL: ELAC 108, LATTC 85

East LA's (18-3, 3-0) depth and firepower outran a shorthanded but punchy Beavers' team that only dressed seven players. Trade Tech (3-19, 0-2) began the game by taking a 10-5 lead within the first three minutes of gameplay, but then the Huskies got to work, putting together a 13-2 advantage over the next four-plus minutes to surge ahead 18-12. Trade would respond to pull the game within one, 18-17, on a Devon Jainlett three-ball at the 11:53. But again, the Pack put on the hard hats and got back to grinding - outscoring the Beavers 21-9 over the next 6:42 to take a 39-26 lead. Both teams would trade baskets with the Huskies going into halftime up 49-37.

The second half saw ELAC take further control, leading by as much as 25 with 12:59 to go. To the visitor's credit, however, Trade wouldn't immediately go away - they trimmed the East lead down to 12 with 6:23 left. Thankfully for the home Green, they pushed the pedal back down to the metal - outscoring LATTC 25-14 down the stretch to put the Beavers to bed.

Sophomore F JT Langston led the Huskies with 23 points on a perfect day shooting the ball - 10-10 from the field, and 3-3 from the line... not to mention throwing down a monster, posterizing dunk in the first half. He also had eight boards and three blocks. Sophomore G Noel Scott added 18 points on 8-12 shooting (1-3 3PTs).

 

HUSKY BITS

For the women:

  • Freshman F Diamond Bishop came off the bench and had herself a double-double: 14 points, 14 rebounds.
  • Freshman F Sasha Capers had 10 points, nine boards and two blocks.
  • Freshman G Maddie Black got her seventh start of the season.

For the men:

  • Sophomore G Jon Sanders had a strong all-around game with 12 points (3-6 3PTs), eight assists, seven rebounds and four steals.
  • Fellow soph and 2021-22 conference POY G Corey Cofield pulled down 13 boards to go with eight points.
  • Frosh F Gregory Melvin came off the bench for 13 points on 6-10 shooting
  • ELAC shot 55.7% from the field and 40% from downtown.

 

UP NEXT:

Both men and women will have a week off before welcoming the Lancers of Pasadena City College next Wednesday February 1. The women will tip at 5pm, and the men will square off at 7p.