Men’s State Basketball Tournament : Cypress Goes Flat During Second-Half Stretch and Is Eliminated, 70-53

Cypress College just plain fell apart in the second half Friday night in one semifinal of the state community college men’s basketball tournament.

The Cypress collapse allowed Columbia to cruise to a 70-53 victory at Santa Clara University in front of 1,000 fans.

Columbia (33-3), the top-ranked team in the state, plays El Camino (33-2) in the final at 8 tonight.

El Camino advanced with a 69-67 victory over Merced Friday.

The poor second-half showing for Cypress was unusual, considering the Chargers have rallied from 10 or more points behind in the second half in their last two victories.

The loss also ended Cypress’ 17-game winning streak. Cypress, which won the Orange Empire Conference this season, finished 31-6.

The Chargers started poorly, trailing, 16-6, early in the game but rallied to take a 30-27 lead at halftime.

Cypress looked sharp in the first few minutes of the second half. Jim Sammon hit Jeff Green with a no-look pass, and Green made a reverse layup to put the Chargers ahead, 38-31.

But that was about the end of the cheering for the Chargers.

“Maybe that was the worst thing we did was to take a three-point lead at the half,” Cypress Coach Don Johnson said. “That aroused them, and they really played outstanding in the second half. We just couldn’t quite keep up with them on their fast break or their rebounding.”

Cypress was outrebounded, 24-11, in the second half and 40-29 for the game. Columbia shot 54% from the field (15 of 28) in the second half, and Cypress just 35% (10 of 28). Cypress also committed 10 of its 16 turnovers in the second half.

The score was tied at 40-40 with 12:42 left, but Columbia went on a 10-0 run to take a 50-40 lead with 8:04 remaining.

Cypress managed to pull within eight at 53-47 with 6:51 left on a steal and layup by Kris Brodowski, who later fouled out with 4:37 left.

Cypress was outscored, 17-6, the rest of the way Friday.

Columbia’s rally was led by center Jerry Anderson, who took control of the middle in the second half.

Anderson, who at 6-foot 8-inches is three inches taller than any Cypress starter, scored 16 of his game-high 21 points in the second half.

Anderson had 9 rebounds, and Shawn Graham, a 6-8 forward, had a game-high 13 rebounds, 11 in the second half. Graham added 10 points.

Cypress turned to the three-point shot in the final four minutes but missed all six attempts and finished 1 for 9 in the game.

Green scored 16 points and John Jackson 10 for Cypress.

“A lot of the kids think this is the end of the world right now,” Johnson said. “But making it to the final four was really an amazing thing for them. They will wake up tomorrow and see that there is still more to live for.”

In the other semifinal:

El Camino 69, Merced 67--Arlandis Rush made two free throws with 18 seconds left to help El Camino advance to tonight’s final. Rush was driving the baseline, and his shot rolled off the rim as he was fouled by Dexter Coward.

Julius Jones missed a last-second 10-foot jump shot for Merced, which finished 28-7.

Neither team led by more than six points in the second half after El Camino led, 39-37, at halftime.

Coward’s layup gave Merced a 65-63 lead with 3:12 left, but David Lee scored consecutive baskets and El Camino led, 67-65, with 1:39 remaining. Merced tied the score for the last time with a pair of free throws by Samuel Barnes with 57 seconds remaining.

Rush led El Camino with 14 points, Kirkland Howling added 14 and Lee 13.

Barnes had 21 points and Ron Taborn 17 for Merced.