COLLEGE BASKETBALL GLENDALE TOURNAMENT : Nalls Beats Buzzer, Canyons to Give Glendale Title, 73-71

It’s a good thing Osiris Nalls’ family was on hand to witness the closing seconds of Saturday’s Glendale tournament championship game--it was the kind of finish one had to see to believe.

Nalls, Glendale College’s sharpshooting guard, took a hurried pass from Brad Mills with two seconds remaining and banked in an acrobatic 18-foot jump shot under heavy pressure at the buzzer to give the Vaqueros a 73-71 victory over Canyons.

“I just got it and let it go,” said Nalls, the tournament most valuable player. “Luckily it banked in.”

The shot, called a “leaping winger” by Glendale Coach Brian Beauchemin, quelled a Canyons comeback and gave the upstart Vaqueros (6-6) their fourth title in the tournament’s six-year history.

Nalls, who finished with a team-high 18 points, also turned in the key defensive play of the game when he forced Canyons guard David Langley to commit an offensive foul with 5.8 seconds left and the score tied, 71-71.

Mills took the ensuing inbounds pass and dribbled through double coverage before passing to Nalls, who hit the game-winning shot.

Nalls made four three-point baskets and Glendale made 14 of 26 shots from beyond the arc as a team. That made up for a severe disadvantage underneath the basket against the Cougars (10-4).

Will Burr (12 points on four three-point shots), Harry Marks (13 points, three three-point shots) and all-tournament selection Alfonso Pule (two three-point shots) joined Nalls in leading the outside attack.

Canyons was led by center Jason Joynes, an all-tournament pick who scored a game-high 22 points.

All-tournament pick Jeff Dorst added 11 points and 14 rebounds and Marquis Wilborn contributed 13 points for Canyons, which is 0-3 in tournament title games this season.

Harbor 90, Valley 86--Russell Baldwin (23 points, 11 rebounds) and Randy Brown (19 points, 13 rebounds) provided firepower but poor free-throw shooting cost the Monarchs (7-7) in the third-place game.