Tired Irvine Valley Defeats Citrus for Third Place

Irvine Valley showed some character in an 87-70 victory over Citrus in the third-place game of the Riverside men’s basketball tournament Saturday.

The Lasers (8-4) were coming off a difficult 74-65 loss in the semifinals Friday night to Los Angeles City, the top-ranked team in Southern California. Irvine Valley was down by 13 at halftime but rallied to take the lead in the final five minutes before falling.

Irvine Valley Coach Jerry Hernandez was worried his team wouldn’t be excited about playing for third place and that his players would be tired. It was their fourth game in as many days.

But Irvine Valley, which won the Orange Coast College tournament title, played a solid first half and led, 38-31. The Lasers outscored Citrus, 25-9, in the first 10 minutes of the second half to put the game away.

“I had real concern about this game,” Hernandez said.

Sophomore forward Daryl Todd had eight points in the run and finished with a game-high 26. He made eight of 14 shots from the field and seven of 10 free throws.

J.C. Timmons, a sophomore guard who is up to speed after an early-season ankle injury, finished with 17.

Timmons, who averaged 12.5 points in the four games, and Todd, who averaged 16 points, made the all-tournament team for Irvine Valley, which has won eight of its last 10.

“He’s a great driver,” Hernandez said of Timmons. “I always tell people how good he is. He provides stability for us.”

Forward Brandon Hearvey and Donald Williams each had 10 points for Irvine Valley.

In the Los Angeles Valley women’s basketball tournament:

Cypress 70, Chaffey 53--Janine Shaw had 31 points, six rebounds, five steals and five assists for Cypress (9-4) in the consolation final. Shaw made eight of 10 from three-point range, setting a school record for most three-pointers in a game.

In nonconference games:

College of the Canyons 75, Irvine Valley 48--LaCresha Clark scored 25 points for College of the Canyons (6-2). Teammate Zevette Mitchell had 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Dyanna Hatch scored 20 points and Heather Cunningham had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Lasers.

Fullerton 90, Grossmont 50--Lauren Murphy scored 21 points and Angie Baca had 18 for Fullerton (4-5), which led at halftime, 52-22.