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NAIA DISTRICT 3 BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : Scruggs, Moore Lead SCC Into National Tournament

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Southern California College was preparing for another second-place finish in the NAIA District 3 basketball tournament, but Terry Scruggs and Bryan Moore had other ideas.

Scruggs and Moore sparked a 29-4 run late in the second half and the Vanguards defeated Christian Heritage, 90-77, in the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics District 3 championship game at Whittier College.

With the victory, the Vanguards (25-8) qualified for the NAIA national tournament March 13-19 in Kansas City, Mo., the first national tournament berth in the school’s history.

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But midway through the second half, SCC appeared headed for its fourth district runner-up plaque in the past nine years. The Vanguards trailed Christian Heritage, 62-53, with 11 minutes 30 seconds left.

Then Scruggs and Moore took over.

Scruggs scored 15 of his 22 points and Moore, a reserve averaging six points a game, had 11 of his 19 in the next 9:28. Scruggs’ two free throws with 1:59 remaining gave the Vanguards an 82-66 lead.

“Terry floundered a little bit in the first half,” SCC Coach Bill Reynolds said. “But once he gets going, he can light it up with anyone at any level.

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“And Bryan came off the bench and gave us a big lift. He can sky with anyone out there.”

Moore and the Vanguards were grounded early. After building a 6-0 lead one minute into the game, they watched Christian Heritage make five consecutive three-pointers in a 17-0 run.

“I knew Christian Heritage was a streaky team, just like us,” Reynolds said. “I told the kids to hang in there and play containment defense. I knew Christian Heritage would get tired and start missing.”

He was right. Christian Heritage made only 15 of 37 shots in the second half.

Meanwhile, the Vanguards made 63% of their shots from the field and were 29 of 44 from the free-throw line. Christian Heritage made only one of three free-throws in the second half.

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“They hit a lot of free throws at the end,” Christian Heritage co-coach Ray Slagle said. “We expected to do two things coming in--not get in foul trouble and establish a transition game. But we got in foul trouble in the second half.”

Brad Soucie, a transfer from Eastern Michigan, scored a game-high 27 points to lead Christian Heritage. John Mounce led SCC with 25 points.

Christian Heritage (29-6) will play host to The Master’s College Saturday in the first round of the National Christian College Athletic Assn. tournament. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals March 15-17 in Chattanooga, Tenn.

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