Guevara’s Late Shot Gives SCC’s Reynolds His 300th

With his team trailing Elmhurst (Ill.) by one with 19 seconds to play, Southern California College men’s basketball Coach Bill Reynolds called for a timeout Tuesday night. In the huddle, Reynolds drew up a play, as he has countless times in his 15 seasons at SCC.

It didn’t work--at least not the way Reynolds envisioned it. The first two options weren’t available, but point guard Mike Guevara took a pass on the perimeter, made a slashing move into the key and threw in a scoop shot with eight seconds left that gave the Vanguards a 56-55 victory, Reynolds’ 300th at SCC.

“You can do all the coaching, all the Xs and O’s,” Reynolds said, “and it’s the things that break down that make it great.”

After the game, Reynolds was given a plaque honoring the milestone. Instead of being doused by Gatorade, he received a shower of purple confetti.

Reynolds, who is 300-151 at SCC, said the milestone says more about his longevity as SCC coach than anything else and he is more pleased that the Vanguards have turned things around after an 0-4 start.

SCC (6-5) had a tough time with Elmhurst (5-3), an NCAA Division III school 20 minutes west of Chicago. The Vanguards shot 24% from the field in the first half, including one for 13 from beyond the three-point arc and trailed, 30-26.

But Kevin Carlson, who was zero for seven on three-pointers in the first half, made his third of the second half to pull SCC even, 52-52, with 4:15 left. Elmhurst’s Chris Payne (19 points) made his fifth three-pointer with three minutes left. SCC’s Robert Darville cut the lead to one with 55 seconds left and Jason Janeski drew a charging foul on Drake Brown to give SCC the ball back.

After Guevara’s shot, Janeski stopped Elmhurst’s final chance, stealing the ball from Payne.