Coyotes hold off Cougars' final heave for home win

Eduardo Miranda

The Daily Independent

Cerro Coso men's basketball closed a five-game homestand hosting LA Southwest on Tuesday. The Coyotes and Cougars played an exciting game that came down to the wire with the visitors having a chance to either force overtime or steal a win at the buzzer. LA Southwest took a contested three-pointer as time expired with the Coyotes' Jay Matthews defending with the ball bouncing off the front of the rim.

The Coyotes held off the Cougars for an impressive 84-82 home win before playing the next four games on the road. Head coach Chris Dugan spoke on his team's win over the Cougars.

"We did a good job, and obviously our second win, but both these wins we've done a good job of making it the way we wanted it to be. The tempo, how we did things, and how we controlled things was exactly how we wanted the game to be," he said.

The Coyotes finished the game shooting 63% from the field on 46 attempts, 50% from the three-point line on 10 attempts, and 65.6% from the free-throw line on 32 attempts. They grabbed 37 rebounds with seven on the offensive board, and had 16 assists, six steals, three blocks, and only 18 turnovers.

The Coyotes had five score in double digits led by Matthews with 19 points, seven rebounds with two on the offensive end, and an assist. Marc Vincent had 15 points, two steals, an assist, and a rebound off the bench. Demarris Day had 12 points, three steals, three assists, and three rebounds. Terrance Sims Jr. and Issiakoi Aminou both had 10 points.

Dugan said on his team's bounceback performance after Sunday's loss to Sequoias, "it was phenomenal. I'm glad these guys stayed the course. They stayed the course and continued to buy in and continued to fight. Marc Vincent did a great job. He banked in three threes. He did a phenomenal job."

The biggest characteristic of the win was the team play on both ends of the hardwood. The Coyotes' 2-3 zone defense forced the visiting LA Southwest to shoot 47.9% from the field and the rotation forced the visitors to shoot 18% from the three-point line. That allowed the home team to grab the defensive rebound and run at the Cougars before they could set up their halfcourt defense.

Cerro Coso has shown the ability to score in transition, but against LA Southwest, the team showed its ability to run and score in a halfcourt offense. The ball movement and the play from the bench helped the team take a lead, not fold when the Cougars made a run, and hold on for the win.

"We need every single person, as we have talked about. I'm happy. If we would have lost, I don't think I would have felt any different. Obviously, winning cures all, but for the team I have been asking them to do a lot of things. They have kind of been, 'do I trust it? Do I want to do it?' And now we have done it and won some games, so now you have to start doing it every time," Dugan said on every player stepping up.

The Coyotes are on the road for the next four games beginning at the Citrus College Holiday Classic. They will face Santa Monica on Friday and Southwestern on Saturday. They then travel to Reedley on Dec. 10, and finish the trip at Palo Verde on Dec. 13 to start Inland Empire Athletic Conference play.

"We have a formula since Santa Barbara. Last three and a half games on what we are doing, pushing when we get stops, playing zone defense, rebounding, shooting threes under 10 seconds, it's a formula, and guys have done a good job buying in to it. I'm proud of them," Dugan said what he wants to see in the four-game road trip.

In the first half, the Coyotes went early to Aminou, who scored a layup but missed the and-one free throw and than hit a hook shot to tie the game at 4-4. Day found Matthews for a layup to tie the game at 6-6. An offensive rebound and putback from Aminou gave the Coyotes an early 8-6 lead. The home team extended the lead with Aminou with a post move, and Sims hit a layup for a 12-6 lead, forcing the Cougars to call a timeout.

After two minutes of neither team being able to score, Day scored a contested layup. Lance Bailey Jr. hit a floater to put the home team ahead 16-9. The visitors stormed back and cut the lead to three until Matthews hit a hook shot on a pass from Bailey. Sims and Matthews both got fouled and went one-for-four from the charity stripe for a 19-18 lead.

But the Cougars came back, and after a jumper from Bailey, the game was tied at 24-24 with less than five minutes in the half. The Coyotes retook the lead on a free throw from Ade Daramola and both teams traded baskets. With two seconds left, Vincent hit a corner three to beat the buzzer on a pass from Daramola for a 39-32 lead at the half.

To start the second half, the Coyotes jumped out to a 45-37 lead behind Idris Mukendi's layup, then Matthews hitting a hook shot and making two free throws. LA Southwest went on a run to cut the lead six points after two free throws from Day. Sims used a fake pass to score an uncontested layup to extend the lead to 49-41.

The Coyotes began to take control of the game to build a 61-49 lead, forcing the Cougars to call a timeout. During the run, Bailey found Mukendi for a layup, Matthews hit a floater on a pass from Sims, and Day hit a jump shot. Vincent came off the bench and hit back-to-back three-pointers giving the home team all the momentum.

But the Cougars made a run, erasing the Coyotes' lead in the final two minutes. In that time, Cerro Coso led 82-77 and scored only two points with Day and Vincent both hitting one free throw. The defense was called upon to win the game, and with 14 seconds left, the Cougars went to their best three-point shooter who was being guarded by Day. The Coyote jumped up to contest the shot and there was some contact between the two players, but not enough for the referee who was close to the play to make a call, and Mukendi grabbing the rebound secured the Coyotes' win.