Valley Peaks in Time for Stretch Run, 96-77

Doug Michelson, the Valley College men’s basketball coach, couldn’t have asked for a better time for his team to peak.

The Monarchs won for the fourth consecutive time with a 96-77 victory over Bakersfield in a Western State Conference South Division game Saturday night.

Valley (18-11, 7-1), which has won eight of 10 games, remained tied with Santa Monica, which defeated West L.A., 98-74.

The Monarchs will meet Santa Monica on Wednesday night at Valley in game that could determine the division championship.

“We are definitely playing well at the right time of the season,” Michelson said. “We are looking forward to playing (Santa Monica) in our place.”

The Corsairs defeated Valley, 87-83, at Santa Monica on Jan. 28. That game was a see-saw battle but the Monarchs had little trouble Saturday with Bakersfield, a team they routed, 82-66, three days before the Santa Monica game.

Only a few weeks ago, however, the Monarchs lost six consecutive games but were able to get hot just in time for division play.

The Monarchs started slowly Saturday but Bakersfield (14-15, 3-5) couldn’t stop them once they got rolling midway through the first half. Valley gave the Renegades several different looks on defense that created problems for Bakersfield.

Perhaps the most effective defensive scheme used by the Monarchs was their half-court trap, which helped force several of Bakersfield’s 22 turnovers.

“It bothered them up in Bakersfield,” Michelson said. “It changes their passing angles.”

Valley trailed the entire first half until Tooki Akinloye hit a three-point shot to put the Monarchs ahead, 21-19, with 10 minutes 18 seconds left before intermission.

The Monarchs went on a 15-4 run to take a 37-29 advantage at the half.

Craig Griffin started the blitz with a layup and Akinloye finished it with a basket from the free-throw line before Sean Piatkowski sank two free throws for Bakersfield with six seconds left in the half.

Kenyth Henry provided the scoring punch for the Monarchs with 27 points, including 15 in the second half when Valley was not threatened. Four other Monarchs scored in double figures, including Griffin with 14 points and Akinloye with 10.

Piatkowski scored 26 points for Bakersfield, 19 of them in the second half. Piatkowski made six three-point shots. Center Woody Melton finished with 16 points for the Renegades, who were eliminated from title contention in the South.