Huskies Outlast Vikings in Back-and-Forth Affair

by Cerwin D Haynes

With the #2 RPI in the state, East LA College Men's Basketball has loaded up their early schedule with top-ranked opponents. And they've been beating them too.

On their current four-game win streak, the Huskies have beaten ranked opponents such as Ventura (#18), Cerritos (#1), and Riverside (#8). Following a close win at Porterville, the Huskies were back home tonight for another tough matchup, hosting the #24 Long Beach City College Vikings. ELAC and Long Beach waged a back-and-forth battle, and it was the Huskies (8-2) that made the final push over the last 10 minutes to close the deal against LBCC (10-5), 95-85. Sophomore F Corey Cofield lead the Huskies attack with 19 points with 13 rebounds (seven offensive).

A hotly-contested game throughout, the matchup was a contrast in styles: East's athleticism and ability to dominate the paint versus LBCC's excellent guard play and outside shooting. The home Green made the initial push in the first half by taking a 15-7 lead in the first four and a half minutes of play. Long Beach responded with a bevy of three pointers plus a Kameron Mayhan layup to draw within one 21-20 at the 12:29 mark. The Huskies surged again with a pair of threes of their own by reserve freshman Donjae Lindsey to stretch the lead to seven, 27-20 with 11:29 to go. But the Vikings had yet another answer: a 12-0 run capped by a Chris Herrera layup to take a 32-27 lead with 7:06 left in the half. The Pack would weather the mini-storm, taking the lead back at 2:43 on a three-point play by Cofield, 41-40. Both teams would trade a basket before the end of the half, and the Huskies trekked into the locker room with the narrow 43-42 lead at halftime.

The second half saw more of the same see-saw action; Long Beach re-took the lead, 51-50, on a Bonard Johnson three-ball with 17:20 left. The Vikings would extend their lead by as much as eight points, 64-56, at the 12:27 mark: the visitors were continuing to hit their shots from behind the arc while ELAC - despite seemingly grabbing an offensive rebound on every possesion - could not convert at close range in the paint. Head coach John Mosley looked to his bench, and with 10:51 to go, brought back in Calip, who was scoreless in the first half. 

The Taft HS product rewarded his coach's confidence. With the Huskies trailing 64-59 he immediated drained a three. He then drew a charge call on Vikings G Shane Hunter, which gave the Huskies a jolt of energy. After a pair of JT Langston free throws and Donjae Lindsey layup, Calip spleashed another three. The Pack quickly put together a 10-0 run, and then took 71-64 lead with 7:37 left... but Long Beach again answered. A jumper, a dunk, and a three by Johnson tied the game at the 6:44 mark, and a layup and another three by the Vikings gave them another 12-0 run and a 76-71 lead with 5:53 left. 

Calip the super-sub struck again - stopping the bleeding fast with his third make from downtown. And the see-saw battle continued. 

ELAC took the lead for good with 3:24 left on a Jon Sanders three-pointer, 85-84. That started the decisive run of the game: two Corey Cofield layups, another pair of free throw makes by Langston, and a flashy dunk by Calip capped an 11-0 surge that ran into the final minute of play.

HUSKY BITS

• Calip scored all 13 of his points in the second half, shooting an efficient 5-6 from the field and 3-3 from behind the arc.
• Langston tallied 15 points and 13 rebounds (five offensive). Langston spent most of the game at the free throw line, where he hit on 11-14.
• The Vikings shot over 50% from the field and from three (52.5% and 52%). But the Huskies took 11 more shots and enjoyed a 35-18 advantage in FT attempts, thanks to outrebounding Long Beach 47-28. This includes a whopping 19-3 edge on the offensive boards.
• Freshman F Gregory Melvin had eight points and seven rebounds (five offensive) off the bench.

UP NEXT:

The Huskies trek north to near San Jose this Tuesday to face the #4 ranked West Valley College Vikings (13-1). ELAC played a neutral site game with the Vikings last year in Fresno, where East came away with a 79-71 victory. Game time is 1:30pm. West Valley streams their live games on their YouTube channel: @westvalleycollegeathletics5398