Marauders Advance to Final, 92-73

Jonathon George scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Antelope Valley College past Riverside, 92-73, in the semifinals of the Canyons tournament Saturday night.

John Burrell added 22 points and Shaun Murray scored 15 for the Marauders (15-3), who won their eighth consecutive game and defeated a longtime nemesis.

Earlier this season, Riverside (12-6) beat Antelope Valley, 81-73, in the final of the Antelope Valley tournament.

“We were much better prepared this time,” said Marauder Coach Newton Chellette, whose team will play Moorpark in final at 4 p.m. today. “We played a lot better defensively, and executed better against their trap.”

Said George: “You never like to lose two games to the same team. We felt we should have won the first time, so we came out really motivated.”

Antelope Valley used a 12-2 run to take a 28-18 lead, and led 41-30 at halftime.

Point guard Michael Hamelin had 13 points, eight assists and six steals for the Marauders, who led by at least 10 points in the second half.

Moorpark 85, Citrus 77--Marcus Pena had 20 points and nine assists for the Raiders (8-5) in the other semifinal.

Forwards Cameron Henderson and Anthony McCurtis added 16 and 13 points for Moorpark.

Canyons 80, Harbor 62--Curtis Wills scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Cougars (8-7) in a consolation game.

Jeff Rogers contributed 15 points off the bench and Kevin King scored 13 for Canyons.

Canyons, which shot 52%, took a 42-30 halftime lead and forced 11 Harbor (8-7) turnovers in the first half.