Rivalry Turns Into a Feud

Once the fuse was lit, it was only a matter of time before the keg blew.

In an extremely physical men’s basketball game between Moorpark and Valley colleges on Wednesday night, heated words escalated into a near-fracas.

Moorpark won, 77-68, but the action on the court paled compared to the fireworks afterward, when coaches Remy McCarthy of Moorpark and Doug Michelson of Valley had harsh words as the teams shook hands.

Then Valley assistant Kenny Williams took a swing at Moorpark assistant Howard Davis, with players from both sides rushing to the altercation.

Once sanity was restored, both sides tried to downplay the incident.

“I didn’t see [the punch],” Michelson said. “I was taking care of the players.”

Williams, in his eighth season with the Monarchs, said he was responding to a remark made by Davis, who was not available for comment afterward.

“I don’t want to repeat it,” Williams said. “It was a good game. It’s too bad the game had to end like that.”

The game was rough from the start, with three technical fouls called, two against Moorpark.

One of those technicals came with 14:26 to play and was the fifth foul for 6-foot-7 forward Lester Strong, the Raiders’ second-leading scorer.

Strong, who entered the game averaging 16.1 points, scored 11 points, all in the first half.

McCarthy said the aggressive play by both teams led to the animosity.

“Just a couple of teams getting together and having some fun,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy wanted Moorpark (13-5) to match Valley (13-9) with physical play and got his wish.

“[Valley] plays physical,” McCarthy said. “That’s fine. I’m here to tell you, we are ready to play physical.”

Lost in the commotion was Moorpark’s rally from a 55-48 deficit midway through the second half to win going away.

Guard Devin Montgomery, from Alemany High, scored 27 points, including 18 in the second half, for Moorpark.

Reserve forward Simmagin Smith came on strong with six key points for Moorpark in the second half and finished with eight.

The Monarchs lost center Michael Crawford, their top scorer at 15.1 points per game, on fouls with 2:08 to play and Moorpark ahead, 67-64.

Crawford finished with five points, all in the first half.

It was all downhill for the Monarchs from that point.

Freshman guard Chenzie Washington came off the bench to score 15 points for Valley.