- 1
- 2
- next
- | single page
IRVINE — It’s been two steps forward and one step back for the Imperial Valley College men’s basketball team in the Irvine Valley College Tournament.
That’s the assessment of coach Tyson Aye, whose Arabs defeated the College of the Canyons 69-65 in Thursday’s opening round game and lost to Cerritos, 64-60, in the semifinal round Friday at Hart Gym.
“We’ve got to get everybody clicking,” Aye said. It’s still early for us. We’ll continue to get better and be a very good basketball team.”
IVC (3-2) defeated Santa Monica for third place Saturday.
Imperial Valley played from the lead down the stretch against Canyons, hitting clutch free throws when the Cougars were forced to foul late. It was the opposite scenario against the Falcons (3-1), with the Arabs playing catch up in the final 10 minutes and never getting over the top.
Imperial Valley had outstanding games from guards Brandon Newman and Melvin Cook and a solid effort from center Josue Malumba in the victory over Canyons.
The 5-foot-11 Newman scored 18 points. Point guard Cook scored 10 and had one turnover in 30 minutes. Malumba had 14 points, eight rebounds, five blocked shots and two steals in 35 minutes.
The Arabs couldn’t put the Cougars away. They had an 11-point lead in the first half, but Canyons tied it 35-35 two minutes into the second half. Imperial Valley stretched its lead to nine and 10 and the Cougars clawed their way back to within two at 65-63 with 39 seconds remaining.
“We didn’t play up to our potential, but we found a way to win,” Aye said. “It’s a sign of a championship team.”
Imperial made eight straight free throws, two by Newman and six by Cook, in the final 1:20 maintain the lead.
Rafael Love’s 3-pointer from the corner cut the Arabs’ advantage to 65-63 and Canyons got the ball back seconds later on a turnover.
Cook intercepted a pass and was fouled at 28.8. He sank both free throws to put the Arabs on top, 67-63.
Bartole scored on a drive to get Canyons within two, but Cook’s two free throws at 11.6 put the game out of reach.
“I’ve always been in those situations,” Cook said. “It was kind of easy for me (to make late free throws).”
Aye had confidence in the freshman in crunch time.
“I knew he’d make them,” Aye said. “It’s why he was in the game.”
Imperial Valley made 17 of 20 free throws in the second half and were 20-of-26 for the game.
The Arabs scored 51.2 percent from the field (21-of-41) including 7-of-18 on 3-pointers. But they also turned the ball over 19 times to 14 for the Cougars.
Against Cerritos, Imperial Valley was in control for most of the first half, leading 32-23 with 90 seconds remaining.
That’s the assessment of coach Tyson Aye, whose Arabs defeated the College of the Canyons 69-65 in Thursday’s opening round game and lost to Cerritos, 64-60, in the semifinal round Friday at Hart Gym.
“We’ve got to get everybody clicking,” Aye said. It’s still early for us. We’ll continue to get better and be a very good basketball team.”
IVC (3-2) defeated Santa Monica for third place Saturday.
Imperial Valley played from the lead down the stretch against Canyons, hitting clutch free throws when the Cougars were forced to foul late. It was the opposite scenario against the Falcons (3-1), with the Arabs playing catch up in the final 10 minutes and never getting over the top.
Imperial Valley had outstanding games from guards Brandon Newman and Melvin Cook and a solid effort from center Josue Malumba in the victory over Canyons.
The 5-foot-11 Newman scored 18 points. Point guard Cook scored 10 and had one turnover in 30 minutes. Malumba had 14 points, eight rebounds, five blocked shots and two steals in 35 minutes.
The Arabs couldn’t put the Cougars away. They had an 11-point lead in the first half, but Canyons tied it 35-35 two minutes into the second half. Imperial Valley stretched its lead to nine and 10 and the Cougars clawed their way back to within two at 65-63 with 39 seconds remaining.
“We didn’t play up to our potential, but we found a way to win,” Aye said. “It’s a sign of a championship team.”
Imperial made eight straight free throws, two by Newman and six by Cook, in the final 1:20 maintain the lead.
Rafael Love’s 3-pointer from the corner cut the Arabs’ advantage to 65-63 and Canyons got the ball back seconds later on a turnover.
Cook intercepted a pass and was fouled at 28.8. He sank both free throws to put the Arabs on top, 67-63.
Bartole scored on a drive to get Canyons within two, but Cook’s two free throws at 11.6 put the game out of reach.
“I’ve always been in those situations,” Cook said. “It was kind of easy for me (to make late free throws).”
Aye had confidence in the freshman in crunch time.
“I knew he’d make them,” Aye said. “It’s why he was in the game.”
Imperial Valley made 17 of 20 free throws in the second half and were 20-of-26 for the game.
The Arabs scored 51.2 percent from the field (21-of-41) including 7-of-18 on 3-pointers. But they also turned the ball over 19 times to 14 for the Cougars.
Against Cerritos, Imperial Valley was in control for most of the first half, leading 32-23 with 90 seconds remaining.
