The Community Christian Lions came to town for the second time in a little under three weeks, and following a 120-75 Marian Ancilla win the first time around, this time the Lions were highly motivated. In the previous matchup, the Chargers made nearly twice as many field goals as the Lions, and they shot an impressive 14-31 from 3-point range. This time, however, it was the Lions who led for much of the game, then held on down the stretch, to escape Plymouth with the 104-100 overtime victory.
The Chargers struggled with foul trouble early, and Freshman guard Jordan Woods was limited to just a handful of minutes in the first half due to his 3 fouls. Leading 43-37 at halftime, the Lions extended their lead to double figures a couple of times in the second half. However, the Chargers used a 13-0 run to take a 3-point lead late in regulation, and then it got very interesting with just a couple of minutes to go.
With 1:35 left in regulation and the score tied at 85-85, Woods made a reverse layup to put MUAC up 87-85. Just 9 seconds later, off of a baseline out-of-bounds set, Derald Blackmon scored in the paint for CC on a nice post spin move, tying it at 87 apiece. The Chargers got a couple of good looks, one a 3-point attempt, then a contested layup, but Blackmon grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 50.4 seconds remaining. He knocked down both charity tosses to put the Lions up, 89-87. With just over 30 seconds left in regulation, Charger Freshman Matt King caught a pass in the left corner, attacked the middle of the floor, then scored on a nice step-through to tie it at 89. Out of an MUAC timeout, Community Christian walked it up, got into their set, but the Charger defense was ready and Terrence Partridge of the Lions had to force a tough 3-pointer from the wing with just a couple of seconds remaining. Willie Williams grabbed the offensive rebound in the short corner and missed on a fade-away jumper at the buzzer, forcing the game to go an extra 5 minutes.
Late in the Overtime period, with the Chargers trailing 96-94, Sophomore Dante Porch buried a contested 3-pointer with 45.0 seconds left, giving MUAC a 97-96 lead. This would be their final lead of the game. On the next possession, the Lions were able to find Williams wide open at the top of the key. He had plenty of time to take a rhythm dribble before stepping into a 3-pointer of his own, putting Community Christian ahead once again, 99-97. As the Chargers transitioned back, King (MUAC) missed a tough contested layup attempt with the rebound caroming out of bounds to the Lions. DaiQuan Coach was fouled on the entry pass, then proceeded to knock down consecutive free throws for a 101-97 Lion lead. Porch again came up huge late, burying another 3-pointer from the deep corner, cutting the lead to 101-100 with 9.2 seconds remaining in the extra period. This time Williams (CC) was the one fouled on the inbound catch, he made the second of two attempts, and it was now a 102-100 Community Christian advantage. As the Chargers flew up the court, Jordan Woods attacked the right side of the lane aggressively, drew contact while in the air, but missed the physical layup attempt with 2.9 seconds remaining. Shauntez Cain came up with the rebound for the Lions and was fouled with 1.5 seconds left. He buried both free throws for the final margin, 104-100, as the Chargers could not get a shot off before the final buzzer.
King led Marian Ancilla in scoring with 18 points, plus he chipped in 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Woods put together a fairly complete game with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals. Porch was next with 16 points off the bench, including 3-5 shooting from deep, and he picked off 5 steals as well. Sophomores Ashton Oviedo and Jayden Sanders each scored 11 points as well.
The Charger Men's team ends the first semester with a 10-3 record. They now get a couple of weeks for break before returning to play #25 Oakland Community College at home on January 4th. Congratulations on a good start to the season, gentlemen, and enjoy your time away with family and friends!!
