Channel Islands’ Brown Has Final Say in 60-57 Win

Perhaps Royal High’s bench jockeys did not know what they were up against when they chose Stephane Brown as their target of taunts Wednesday night.

They know now.

Brown, perhaps the most explosive player in the Marmonte League, has led Channel Islands--which won only two games two years ago--from obscurity to the penthouse this year.

Brown exhibited those talents again Wednesday and exchanged taunts along the way, leading the Raiders from a 19-point third-quarter deficit to a 60-57 win in a league game at Royal.

With Channel Islands (18-5 and 10-3 and in a first-place tie with Thousand Oaks in the league standings) trailing, 47-28, with four minutes left in the third quarter, Brown met Royal’s verbal assault head-on with 10 points in the next two minutes.

After he was fouled making a three-point shot, Brown strolled over to Royal’s bench, pumping his fist and hitting the Highlanders with a stare as cold as they come.

Then he hit a free throw to make it a four-point play.

“They were all over me telling me I was no good,” said Brown, who missed a breakaway first-half dunk but scored 16 of his game-high 25 points in the second half. “It got me fired up.”

And it was the beginning of the end for Royal.

“Our bench talks smack all the time,” Royal senior Kevin Hambly said with a laugh. “Anything could have happened with those guys.”

Marlowe Durmiendo hit a jump shot to give Channel Islands a 57-55 lead with 1 minute 43 seconds remaining.

The Highlanders (16-9, 7-6) had plenty of opportunities in the waning moments but wasted them with costly turnovers and misfires.

Durmiendo hit the front end of a one and one to extend Channel Islands’ lead to 58-55 with 11 seconds left and Royal’s Jared Byrne (11 points) cut the deficit to one, 58-57, when he hit two free throws with nine seconds left.

Brian Schimelpfening, who scored a season-high 18 points, hit two free throws with nine seconds left to give Channel Islands a 60-57 lead.

Royal’s David Tyner (13 points) missed a hurried three-point shot with two seconds left.

The win kept Channel Islands in the hunt for at least a share of its first league title since 1982-83.