Huskies Rally Late, Outlast Compton in Shootout

by Cerwin D Haynes

East LA College head coach John Mosley warned before the game that Compton College was "better than their record". But with the Coyotes (formerly the Tartars) coming into Monterey Park tonight with a 2-5 record, it would have been easy to not heed Mosley's warning, particularly when you add the fact that the Huskies have not lost to Compton since the 2014-15 season.

For 35 out of 40 minutes of play, it indeed looked like Compton was more than ready to end a 10-year losing streak to ELAC. But the Pack righted their trek late: they took a three-point lead with eight seconds left and held on when Copmton G Nathan Ibarra's last-second three was off target. ELAC (4-2) outlasts Compton (2-6) in a high-scoring afair, 100-97. Sophomore F Terrance Hampton and freshman F Adrionne Marcus led the Huskies with 21 points apiece. Marcus was a perfect 8-8 from the floor.

Compton came out firing, pushing pace and hitting 12 out of their first 16 shots in the first 10+ minutes of the game, including a perfect 5-5 from beyond the arc; the Coyotes would ultimately shoot over 57% from the field in the first half. ELAC tried to keep pace as they shot almost 52% from the field for the period (including 10-11 from the free throw line). But Compton's hot shooting saw the home Green trail 50-45 at half.

In the second half, ELAC took a brief one-point lead, 53-52, on a Hampton layup at 17:02. But Compton took back control, and the Huskies had to trek uphill again. East would again catch up to Compton a bit later at the 11:24 mark - another Hampton layup tied the game at 68. But Compton had another surge, and ELAC found themselves trailing by eight, 87-79, with 5:38 left.  

By this point, if the Huskies were going to make their move to take back this game, they had to do it quick. Thankfully, they did just that via an 11-2 push (including an 8-0 run) to regain a one-point lead, 90-89, with 2:56 left.

From that point on, both teams went back and forth, with Compton taking a 97-96 lead on a Jeremy Cook free throw with 26 seconds left. But as he did throughout the night, Terrance Hampton answered by again bulling his way down low. He converted a clutch layup as he was fouled, with the chance at the three-point play as ELAC led 98-97. He missed the freebie, but got his own rebound as the ball ultimately bounced to freshman F Adrionne Marcus who was fouled. Marcus made both free throws with eight seconds left.

On the inbounds, Compton got the ball up court to Ibarra who flung up a shot from about 25 feet to try for the tie. But it hit off the right side of the rim and into the hands of Marcus. He had the ball knocked out of his hands but the clock hit :00 when it went out of bounds.

HUSKY BITS

• Compton G Ley McGovern led all scorers with 27 points, shooting 10-16 from the field. He had 18 at halftime.
• Both teams moved the ball well. Compton had 25 assists on 34 made shots and ELAC assisted on 30 of their 37.
• Hampton converted 10-16 FGs while adding nine rebounds and five assists.
• Sophomore G Isaiah Hill (he of the Swagger TV series) had 17 points (5-10 FGs, 2-5 3FGs) and five assists.
• Freshman PG Darrell Morris got the start and dished out a season-high 12 assists while adding seven points and three steals.

UP NEXT:

ELAC will have about a two-week break as Thanksgiving draws near. After the holiday, they'll head out to Riverside the following week for the Hypland Classic. They'll start the tourney by facing host Riverside City College at 6pm