Men's basketball team wins double-overtime thriller over Fullerton
Jan 11, 2008
The Irvine Valley men's basketball team knew it was in for one of its biggest challenges of the season.
And the Lasers were up for it.
Despite falling behind by 13 points in the first half and as many as 15 in the second half, Irvine Valley, which is ranked third in the state, pulled out a 91-84 Orange Empire Conference victory over eighth-ranked Fullerton at home Friday night.
Sophomore forward Blake Wallace was the hero.
He made a three-pointer with 10 seconds left in regulation to tie the game. And then near the end of the first overtime, he tipped in an IVC miss to tie things again and keep the Lasers alive.
Wallace, a Pepperdine transfer and former Servite High player, finished with 23 points and 20 rebounds, including 12 offensive boards. The 20 rebounds were a school record for most in a game. The previous mark was set by Marcus Blackshire last season with 18 rebounds against Cuesta (Dec. 29, 2006).
Wallace added four assists.
"He came up huge for us," IVC Coach Jerry Hernandez said. "He was exhaused out there, but just kept hustling and trying to make plays. He really saved us tonight."
The Lasers, who are ranked third in the state, improved their record to 18-2 on the year and 2-0 in conference. It was the team's seventh straight victory.
Fullerton, which is ranked eighth in the state, slipped to 14-5 overall and 1-1 in conference.
The two teams along with Riverside are expected to be the favorites for the conference title.
Irvine Valley got a leg up in the race thanks to some hard work in the second half of the contest.
Fullerton took a 40-27 lead into halftime after shooting 60.9 percent (14 of 23) in the first half.
Fullerton continued it early into the second half. The Hornets took their largest lead of the game, 56-41, on two free throws by Wayne Andrews with 12:54 left in the contest.
"But I never felt it was that far out of reach," Hernandez said. "We just wanted to get it under 10 points and then see if we could make a run."
The Hornets still had a double digit lead (59-47) after a three-pointer by Justin Carter with 9:25 to play.
But the Lasers started to chip away. They scored six straight, capped by an offensive rebound and basket by sophomore center Bryce Webster with 6:52 to play, to cut the lead to 59-53.
Fullerton went up, 61-53, on a jumper by Andrews with 6:32 to play. The Hornets held a 63-57 advantage with 4:04 left after Carter scored in the lane.
But the Lasers out-scored Fullerton 5-1 over the next 2:53 to get within two points. A basket inside by Webster made it a 64-62 game with 1:11 remaining.
Fullerton's Carter made two free throws with just under a minute left to give the Hornets a four-point cushion.
Irvine Valley freshman point guard Perry Webster made a layup with 19.4 seconds left to bring IVC back within two points at 66-64.
Irvine Valley fouled Mike Cox with 18.2 seconds to play. And Cox made only one of two free throws to give the Lasers a chance.
Down by three points, Wallace drained the three-pointer from the left corner with 10.4 seconds left to tie the game up.
"I wish I could take credit for calling that play," Hernandez said. "But it was all Blake making a big shot."
Fullerton had a shot to win it, but Darrian McKinstry's three-pointer was off the mark.
Fullerton scored four of the first five points of the first overtime period. But a three-pointer by freshman guard Jeff Ledbetter got the Lasers right back in it.
IVC took a 73-72 lead on a tip in by Wallace with 56 seconds left. But Carter came back with a three-pointer to put Fullerton ahead, 75-73, with 42 seconds left in the first overtime.
Wallace was in the right place at the right time again for the Lasers, though, tipping in another IVC miss for a basket with 12 seconds left to tie things at 75-75.
Again McKinstry missed a three-pointer at the buzzer and the teams went to a second overtime session.
Fullerton took a 81-80 lead on a basket by Andrews with 2:10 to play, but it was all Lasers after that.
Irvine Valley scored the next 10 points to go up, 90-81, with 12 seconds to play.
Ledbetter scored five of those points in a row. His basket with 38.7 seconds left put IVC up by six points.
IVC was dominant on the boards in the game, out-rebounding Fullerton, 53-39. The Lasers had an impressive 28 offensive rebounds.
Irvine Valley also had 20 assists to just 11 turnovers in the game. IVC commited just two turnovers in the second half and had no turnovers in either of the overtime periods.
"That was a big key," Hernandez said. "Fullerton is aggressive on defense and we did a good job of handling their pressure as the game went along. Our point guards La'Shard (Anderson) and Perry (Webster) really did a nice job for us there."
Irvine Valley had five players in double figures overall. Ledbetter added 13 points and six rebounds, Watson finished with 13 points, Anderson had 12 points, four assists and four steals and Bryce Webster finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds (nine on the offensive glass).
The 6-9 Webster had just three points and three rebounds in the first half after picking up two early fouls.
"Bryce was a factor in the second half." Hernandez said. "He was able to disrupt things on defense a little bit and also made a couple of really important shots for us down the stretch."
Fullerton was led by Carter with 28 points, 13 rebounds and four assists. Andrews added 18 points and seven rebounds, McKinstry had 15 points and eight assists and Cox finished with 12 points and four rebounds.
"They are so talented," Hernandez said of Fullerton. "I still don't know how we pulled that off."
Irvine Valley faces another very talented team next. The Lasers travel to Riverside next Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. contest.