ELAC Men’s Basketball Wins 133-81 and Takes Tourney Title
EL CAJON, CA — The East Los Angeles College men’s basketball team won the Cuyamaca College Tournament today with a record breaking 133-81 win over Cerro Coso College of Ridgecrest.
The 133 points against Cerro Coso breaks an ELAC school record for most points scored in a game eclipsing an unverified 121 points scored in a playoff game in the early 1990s. ELAC outscored Cerro Coso 72-36 in the first half, which is a new school record for the most points scored in a half for the Huskies.
ELAC scored 316 points in the three-day tournament, that included wins over Cypress College, 101-78, and Antelope Valley College, 82-68.
ELAC forward Roderick Williams (Price High School) was named the Tournament MVP. He scored 100 tournament points including 40 points in the title game. Williams had 25 rebounds, three double doubles and a team-high 13 assists. Sophomore guard Frank Bertz (Sultana HS) was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
Williams scored a-two-year high 40 points for the Huskies in the championship game as did Bertz, who finished with 30. The Huskies finished with 14 three-pointers, eight of them from Bertz who shot 8-of-10 from beyond the arc with a clip of 80%. Freshman center Solomon Hunt (Upland HS) scored 12 points and freshman guard Darius Henderson (Taft HS) scored 11 that included 3-of-4 three-points shots.
The Huskies had an incredible 38 assists in the game, which included a season-high 15 from sophomore guard Robert Fuller (St. Bernard HS). Freshman guard Abdul Bah (Narbonne HS) had five assists.
Against Antelope Valley in the semifinals, the Huskies led a close game at the half 40-36. The Huskies upped their game on defense in the second half enroute to the double-digit win against a good Marauder team. Williams’ double double in this game included 27 points and 14 rebounds. He also had a game-high five assists.
Three other Huskies scored in double figures. Hunt scored 14 points, freshman forward Jacob Tryon (Great Oak HS) and Bertz each scored 13. The Huskies had 14 steals that included three each from Bah and freshman guard Nick Hart (West Covina HS). Hunt slapped a game-high three blocked shots.
In the first-round win against Cypress, the teams shot pretty much evenly except ELAC was outshot at the free throw line, 80% (28-of-35) to 69% (20-of 29). The Huskies relied on their defense to win.
ELAC out-rebounded Cypress 50-22, which included a 26-9 rebound difference from the offensive boards for more second chance points opportunities. The Huskies dished out more assists 20-8 and hustled for 11 steals to six for Cypress.
Sophomore forward Brennon Palmer (Placentia / Valencia HS) led Cypress with 17 points and teammate freshman forward Mike Magee (Long Beach / Cabrillo HS) pumped in 13 points.
The Huskies complete tournament play at the Second Annual Winter Classic at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo College next year from January 5-7.
Follow ELAC Athletics at http://athletics.elac.edu/landing/index or on Facebook at ELAC Huskies Athletics (@elachuskiesathletics).
story submitted by Tadzio Garcia