Men's basketball team wins big in opener
Nov 07, 2007
The Irvine Valley men's basketball team got what it hopes to be a special season off with a mighty fine start Wednesday night at home.
The Lasers crushed Palomar, 100-67, in a non-conference game.
It was the first time IVC had hit the 100-point mark since the 1999-2000 season when it beat Orange Coast, 104-75, in an Orange Empire Conference contest (Jan. 14, 2000).
"It was a great start," Coach Jerry Hernandez said. "We did a lot of things right tonight. I really liked how we shared the ball, got out and played defense and were able to beat their pressure and attack the basket."
Irvine Valley got contributions from just about everyone Wednesday night.
Among the highlights - six players scored in double figures, IVC finished with 30 assists and 22 steals as a team and shot 62.5 percent (40 of 64) for the game from the field.
"The 30 assists stands out the most," Hernandez said. "We have very talented players, but also very unselfish ones. That was just great to see."
Irvine Valley shot at a 66.7 percent clip (22 of 33) in the first half to jump out to a 55-34 lead.
The game was actually close early. IVC trailed at one point, 15-12. But later up, 19-18, IVC went on a 14-4 run to go up by double digits for the first time. The Lasers never looked back
Irvine Valley closed the first half very strong. It led by as many as 23 points.
A lay-up by reserve sophomore center AJ Kapanoske pushed the lead to 55-34 with five seconds in the half.
Sophomore forward Blake Wallace and sophomore guard Jason Toney each had 10 points in the first half to pace the attack.
Hernandez used his entire bench in the second half, but it didn't matter who was in the game for the Lasers. They all got the job done.
A three-pointer by freshman guard Perry Webster pushed the lead past 30 points to 86-54 with 7:30 left in the game.
And another lay-up by Kapanoske made it a 89-56 game with 6:50 to go. IVC eventually won by the 33-point margin.
Wallace paced IVC in scoring with 18 points. He made 8 of 9 shots from the field and also had three steals.
Toney and sophomore wing Kashif Watson each finished with 13 points. Toney made 5 of 8 shots from the field, including 2 of 4 from three-point range. And Tony added four assists and three steals.
Watson had a nice all-around game - also contributing seven rebounds, six assists and two steals.
Webster and freshman guards Franklin Session and Jef Ledbetter each chipped in with 12 points. Webster was 4 of 4 from the field and 2 of 2 from three-point range. Webster also had six assists.
Session finished with a team-high eight rebounds to go along with his 12 points and had four assists and three steals. Ledbetter also had five rebounds.
Sophomore center Bryce Webster and Kapanoske contributed eight points apiece in the win. Webster also had two blocks and Kapanoske added three steals.
IVC out-rebounded Palomar, 45-38, and held the Comets to just 33.3 percent shooting from the field (23 of 69) in the game.
"We still have some work to do," Hernandez said. "I thought we still could have rebounded a little better and we did have too many turnovers (24 in the game). But I was very pleased with the effort."
Irvine Valley plays next against Miracosta at Palomar College on Friday.
It will be back home next Thursday (Nov. 15) when it plays in its own Spectrum Bank Classic.