OCEANSIDE — The Imperial Valley College men’s basketball team played its first game of the post-Josue Mulamba season Wednesday. It wasn’t pretty, but it’s doubtful even with the 6-foot-10 center that it would have made any difference.
The Arabs, ranked No. 11 in the state and No. 6 in SoCal, were shelled by MiraCosta, losing 77-53 in a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference game on the Spartans’ court.
“It was an awful night,” IVC coach Tyson Aye said.
Imperial Valley (17-5, 9-2 PCAC), which had a six-game winning streak snapped, had played poorly with Mulamba (who was dismissed for conduct detrimental to the team Saturday), too. The best example was a 64-54 PCAC loss at Grossmont on Jan. 4.
This was a debacle more than just a defeat. MiraCosta (10-9, 7-4 PCAC) had the home court advantage, but it was still a team that the Arabs beat 85-65 on Dec. 16 at IVC. That’s a 44-point difference.
With five conference games remaining, the Arabs are going to have to get back on the game without Mulamba to win or share the championship.
San Diego City is the PCAC leader at 10-1. It played Wednesday night at home against Miramar. IVC can share the conference title and go into the state playoffs as the No. 1 team from the PCAC by running the table.
The Arabs have San Diego City at home on Feb. 15 and have already beaten the Knights, 88-72, on Jan. 13.
“MiraCosta came to play,” Aye said. “We’re their biggest game of the year. There’s no doubt they played harder than we did. We’ve played hard through a bad night and still win. But we still control our own destiny and the guys know that.”
IVC fell behind 15-2, scored 10 straight points to get within three, and never got closer. The Arabs only trailed 31-25 at the half.
Field goals by Ryan Ena and Melvin Cook at the outset of the second half moved the Arabs to within four twice.
But from there, the Spartans steadily pulled ahead, taking advantage of missed shots and turnovers to get their fast break going and score on layups and open jumpers.
They scored six straight to get their advantage to 10, 39-29, and a 13-4 run put MiraCosta on top, 52-33, with 12 minutes, 8 seconds to play. The Spartans’ biggest lead was 69-41.
Imperial Valley had good performances from sophomore guard Nate Williams, who scored a season-high 14, and center Ryan Ena, who scored a season-high 13.
Williams was 3-of-4 from the field and 8-of-8 at the foul line. Ena made 6-of-7 field goals including his sole 3-pointer and also had three rebounds.
But the Arabs shot 38.6 (17-of-44) from the field, 2-of-13 on 3-pointers. They were 13-of-19 at the foul line.
MiraCosta had the advantage in rebounding, 30-22, and committed six fewer turnovers, 14 to 20.
The Spartans had big nights from 6-foot-7 center Andre Warren, who had 18 points, and 6-foot-4 guard Baptiste Boucharel, who had 21 points and six rebounds.
MiraCosta made 25-of-50 field goals, 3-of-9 3-pointers, and were 21-of-27 at the foul line.
Brandon Newman, IVC’s leading scorer at 18 per game, scored six, Tyler Turner and Kris Cook each scored five, Darius Singletary and Shawn Jones each scored four and Melvin Cook had two points.
IVC plays Grossmont at 7 p.m. Friday at IVC in its next game.
The Arabs, ranked No. 11 in the state and No. 6 in SoCal, were shelled by MiraCosta, losing 77-53 in a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference game on the Spartans’ court.
“It was an awful night,” IVC coach Tyson Aye said.
Imperial Valley (17-5, 9-2 PCAC), which had a six-game winning streak snapped, had played poorly with Mulamba (who was dismissed for conduct detrimental to the team Saturday), too. The best example was a 64-54 PCAC loss at Grossmont on Jan. 4.
This was a debacle more than just a defeat. MiraCosta (10-9, 7-4 PCAC) had the home court advantage, but it was still a team that the Arabs beat 85-65 on Dec. 16 at IVC. That’s a 44-point difference.
With five conference games remaining, the Arabs are going to have to get back on the game without Mulamba to win or share the championship.
San Diego City is the PCAC leader at 10-1. It played Wednesday night at home against Miramar. IVC can share the conference title and go into the state playoffs as the No. 1 team from the PCAC by running the table.
The Arabs have San Diego City at home on Feb. 15 and have already beaten the Knights, 88-72, on Jan. 13.
“MiraCosta came to play,” Aye said. “We’re their biggest game of the year. There’s no doubt they played harder than we did. We’ve played hard through a bad night and still win. But we still control our own destiny and the guys know that.”
IVC fell behind 15-2, scored 10 straight points to get within three, and never got closer. The Arabs only trailed 31-25 at the half.
Field goals by Ryan Ena and Melvin Cook at the outset of the second half moved the Arabs to within four twice.
But from there, the Spartans steadily pulled ahead, taking advantage of missed shots and turnovers to get their fast break going and score on layups and open jumpers.
They scored six straight to get their advantage to 10, 39-29, and a 13-4 run put MiraCosta on top, 52-33, with 12 minutes, 8 seconds to play. The Spartans’ biggest lead was 69-41.
Imperial Valley had good performances from sophomore guard Nate Williams, who scored a season-high 14, and center Ryan Ena, who scored a season-high 13.
Williams was 3-of-4 from the field and 8-of-8 at the foul line. Ena made 6-of-7 field goals including his sole 3-pointer and also had three rebounds.
But the Arabs shot 38.6 (17-of-44) from the field, 2-of-13 on 3-pointers. They were 13-of-19 at the foul line.
MiraCosta had the advantage in rebounding, 30-22, and committed six fewer turnovers, 14 to 20.
The Spartans had big nights from 6-foot-7 center Andre Warren, who had 18 points, and 6-foot-4 guard Baptiste Boucharel, who had 21 points and six rebounds.
MiraCosta made 25-of-50 field goals, 3-of-9 3-pointers, and were 21-of-27 at the foul line.
Brandon Newman, IVC’s leading scorer at 18 per game, scored six, Tyler Turner and Kris Cook each scored five, Darius Singletary and Shawn Jones each scored four and Melvin Cook had two points.
IVC plays Grossmont at 7 p.m. Friday at IVC in its next game.
