COMMUNITY COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Irvine Valley Stages Rally, Beats Riverside in Overtime

Brian Linsenmayer, playing in his sixth game of the season for Irvine Valley, rallied the Lasers from an eight-point halftime deficit and made the go-ahead three-pointer in overtime as they defeated Riverside, 102-91, in an Orange Empire Conference men’s basketball game Friday at Irvine Valley.

Linsenmayer’s three-pointer with 1 minute 56 seconds left in overtime gave the Lasers (19-9, 7-3) an 87-84 lead. Irvine’s Keon Clark blocked a shot by Ronald Kenan to start a fast break, which was finished by Josh Porter’s three-point play to give the Lasers a 90-84 lead with 1:32 left.

Linsenmayer finished with 24 points, including seven of 10 three-point shooting. He scored 17 points in the second half and overtime.

It was the Lasers’ fourth overtime conference victory.

“It’s no problem playing in overtime,” said Linsenmayer, who became eligible at the start of the spring semester. He did not attend classes in the fall.

“It was our first real test since I’ve been back, and everything finally came together.”

Linsenmayer scored 11 points in the first six minutes of the second half to help Irvine Valley erase a 44-36 halftime deficit.

“At halftime I told them they had been intimidated, and they had better come out and intimidate someone,” Irvine Valley Coach Bill Mulligan said. “I don’t know if we did, but at least we knocked down our shots.”

Porter also scored 24 points for the Lasers. Clark and Rashad Wilson added 21 points each. Clark also had 11 rebounds and six blocked shots.

Kenan scored 23 points for Riverside (23-4, 8-2). Rodney Wills and Paul Culbertson added 18 each.