Canyons Loses to Grossmont in a Footrace

It was almost as if Grossmont College had stolen Canyons’ game plan.

Using a faster fast-break offense, Grossmont beat Canyons, 99-85, here Wednesday night in the second round of the state tournament regionals. Grossmont will play Mountain Valley Conference champion L.A. Southwest on Saturday in the third round.

The Griffins, who had five players score in double figures, outran and outgunned the Cougars with a game so similar to Canyons’ it was a blessing there is such a thing as team colors.

“They’re a lot like us in that they run the ball very well and use their bench as a major part of their offense,” Grossmont Coach Rick Wilkerson said. “And they did a great job of taking away our inside game. That’s something that hasn’t happened to us much.

“Overall, though, I think we had the better bench, better depth, and that’s, I think, what made the difference.”

Actually, it only made part of the difference. After leading by 10 points in the first half, the Cougars weren’t able to recover when they fell behind later on. That may have frustrated them a little. Canyons’ two top guns, Vincent Ray and James Mixon, scored 23 and 22 points, respectively, but combined to make only 19 of 43 shots from the field.

“They’re an all right team, I guess,” Ray said. “We had the lead and we lost it. I don’t know what happened.”

What happened was that Grossmont recovered from the early Canyons’ shooting spree and went on one of its own in the second half. The Griffins scored 60 points in the second half to Canyons’ 39 by putting a stopper on the Cougars’ fast break.

“They took us out of sync by choking off the lead pass on the break,” Canyons Coach Lee Smelser said. “Also, we threw the ball away a lot more than we have in any other game this season.”

By doing so, Canyons ends its season at 20-10. Grossmont, the winner of the Pacific Coast Conference, hasn’t lost since December and is 27-4.

Its ability to take the air out of Canyons’ tires, enabled Grossmont to showcase its bench, much like Canyons has been doing all season.

Sophomore guard Kevin Celestine scored 21 points in a reserve role, and freshman Rob Rittgers scored nine off the bench.

“I was really surprised they had those kinds of kids who could come off the bench like that,” Smelser said.

This season, Canyons’ break, coupled with a fine bench, had been its mainstay. On Wednesday, it was the same type of game, played by the Griffins, that ended the Cougars’ season.

“I think they did a great job on our break,” Canyons guard Derek Hughes said. It was Hughes who directed the Canyons’ offense to the second round. “They double-teamed me most of the game and sometimes they were triple-teaming us. They controlled the tempo of the game.”

Canyons took the Griffins out of their game for a spell in the first half, causing seven turnovers, four of which turned into Canyons baskets. Less than five minutes into the game, Grossmont was huddled on its bench for a timeout, down, 14-4.

The Griffins then went on a nine-point spree to come within one with 10 minutes left in the half.

“I wasn’t really scared when they got that lead,” Wilkerson said. “We were just a little tight and a bit nervous. We had a first-round bye, and they already had a game under their belts, so it was just a matter of our players getting used to playing in a game again.”

Grossmont began to build its lead with 15 minutes left in the second half when it was ahead, 53-49.

The Griffins then scored nine straight and led by 13 seven minutes into the period. Canyons called a timeout with six minutes left, trailing, 78-64. The Cougars came to within three points, but were outscored, 19-10, in the last three minutes.

Ray was the game’s leading scorer. Juan Espinoza, Grossmont’s 6-7 center who is headed for San Diego State, had a team-high 20 points. Forward Tyrone Muldrow had 16.