Men's basketball team drops first game
Dec 09, 2007
The Irvine Valley men's basketball team lost its first game of the season, falling to LA City, 77-74, in the championship game of the Rio Hondo Classic in Whittier.
The game featured two of the top-15 ranked teams in the state. IVC went into the contest ranked fifth in the state, while LA City was 15th.
Irvine Valley fell behind in the first half and trailed, 42-32, at halftime. LA City made 15 of 25 shots from the field (60 percent) in the first half.
The Lasers rallied early in the second half and tied the score.
The game was close until the end with the Lasers having several opportunities to take the lead for good, but IVC was hurt by missing some free throws down the stretch.
Irvine Valley's record slipped to 11-1 overall, while LA City improved to 11-2.
The Lasers were led by sophomore wing Kashif Watson, who had 21 points. Freshman guard Jeff Ledbetter and sophomore forward Blake Wallace each added 13 points. Wallace also had six rebounds.
Sophomore center Bryce Webster contributed 12 points.
The difference in the contest was at the free throw line where IVC made 20 of 32 attempts (62.5 percent) and LA City made 20 of 21 attempts (95.2 percent)
Watson and Webster were named to the all-tournament team for IVC.
Brandon Fisher, who had 18 points and five assists in the title game for Rio Hondo, was named the tourney MVP.
Irvine Valley also defeated Glendale, 68-60, and Rio Hondo, 82-65, in the tournament. Watson and Webster each had 19 points in the win over Rio Hondo in the semifinals.
IVC plays again in the Saddleback Tournament starting on Thursday. The Lasers are scheduled to open up to on Thursday at 1 p.m. against LA Trade Tech.
IVC would then face the winner/loser of the Santa Monica-Riverside first-round match-up on Friday.