Cleveland Gives Valley 3-Point Shot in the Arm

The pain in Mack Cleveland’s knee was enough. But the hurt doubled as he watched the Valley College men’s basketball season slipping away.

So with Valley trailing by 15 points and less than seven minutes to play, Cleveland hit a three-point shot that sparked the Monarchs to a 73-72 victory over Rio Hondo in the first round of the Southern California men’s basketball regional Friday night at Valley.

Cleveland’s two free throws with nine seconds left gave Valley a 73-69 lead, but the Monarchs had to survive a scare at the finish.

Carlton Whiteside of Rio Hondo (15-16) had a three-point shot blocked by LaMarr Thompson in the final seconds.

“When it comes down to your last game, you’ve got to give it all you’ve got,” said Cleveland, a 6-foot-3 freshman from Chicago, who missed the Monarchs’ last four games with a sprained knee.

He came off the bench to score 13 points. With Valley trailing, 59-44, Cleveland’s three-pointer sparked a 16-0 run by the Monarchs (20-12).

“He was just what the doctor ordered,” Coach Doug Michelson said. “He’s an emotional, inspirational player, and tonight he did it on the floor.”

After Cleveland’s big shot, the Monarchs seemed to awaken. Vernon Simmons hit a 15-foot jumper to give Valley a 60-59 lead with 3:37 to play.

With 1:45 remaining, Cleveland made another three-pointer to give the Monarchs a 68-65 lead.

After Cleveland’s free throws with nine seconds left, Isaac Taylor hit a three-pointer and the Roadrunners stole the inbounds pass before Thompson swatted Whiteside’s desperation attempt.