COMMUNITY COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Late Blocked Shot by Dean Clears Way for Golden West

Michael Dean blocked a shot as time ran out in the second overtime to preserve Golden West’s 66-65 victory over Victor Valley on Saturday in the Cypress tournament’s third-place game.

The play gave Dean, a sophomore guard, special satisfaction because he missed a free-throw attempt with one second left in the first overtime that would have won the game for the Rustlers (6-8).

Golden West, which had only eight players because of injuries, also had a chance to win at the end of regulation. But the Rustlers couldn’t get a man open in the final 10 seconds and failed to get a shot off before time expired.

In the second overtime, Victor Valley’s Paul Durham scored with 49 seconds left to cut the lead to 66-65. Victor Valley got the ball back with 26 seconds left and worked it around until Mouse Woods had it with two seconds left near the top of the key. He attempted a shot, but Dean got a piece of it and and the ball fell well short as time ran out.

“We squandered so many opportunities tonight,” Golden West Coach Tom McCluskey said. “But I feel we grew because we held together and that will make us stronger.”

In the consolation championship:

Cypress 95, Santa Monica 75--Cypress set a single-game school record for three-pointers with 19. Gil Gonzales made eight of 10, Matt Kenney made six of eight and Jeff Rutter made five of five for the Chargers (12-4).

Gonzales had 29 points and added five assists. Kenney added 22 points and Rutter had 16.