Lancaster, Calif. - Gerald Williams dribbled the length of the floor, lofting the ball over the Pioneers defender, that found the bottom of the net as the final buzzer sounded, giving the Golden Eagles an 82-80 victory. The University of Antelope Valley, erased a five-point deficit in the final seconds, but Williams buzzer beater secured the victory and pushed the Golden Eagles to a 4-2 record in Cal Pac play (5-14 overall).
The game started rather sluggishly for both teams, but it was the Golden Eagles who led for the majority of the first half. Lance Jones connected on three of his 12 points with a 3-point field goal just before midway through the first half, giving the Golden Eagles a 15-6 lead. Antelope Valley regained their footing and took their first lead of the game, at 19-18, with the help of a 13-3 run.
A Franky Teran three-pointer gave the Pioneers their largest lead of the half, 32-25, with 3:14 to play in the half, but the Golden Eagles were able to shave four points off of the lead by the halftime buzzer, but still found themselves trailing, 36-33.
After the Golden Eagles started the second half with a basket, cutting the lead to just one point, the Pioneers used a 12-4 run, extending their lead to 48-39 in the opening minutes of the half. Over the next five minutes, La Sierra was able to cut the Pioneers lead to just two points on three separate occasions, only to see Antelope Valley answer back. With 12:09 remaining and the Pioneers hanging on to a 53-51 lead, Antelope Valley pushed their lead to 61-51, their largest of the game, with the help of an 8-2 run.
Another Jones three-pointer started a 14-4 run for the Golden Eagles who erased the deficit with 6:11 to play. But the run didn't end there for La Sierra, over an 8-minute stretch, the Golden Eagles outscored Antelope Valley 27-10, jumping out to a 78-71 lead with 1:08 remaining in the game. After two made free throws, by the Pioneers Kadeem Minor, cut the lead to 78-73, the two teams exchanged their share of turnovers.
Minor cut the lead to 78-75 on a drive to the basket, followed by an immediate foul by the Pioneers, sending Nikko Turner to the foul line. Turner pushed the lead back to five points (80-75) by knocking down both free throws. But a quick 3-point basket by Joe McNiff trimmed the lead to 80-78 with 11 seconds on the game clock.
After a timeout, the Pioneers were able force another turnover, subsequently stealing the ball and laying it in to tie the score at 80-80 with seven seconds to play. Following a Golden Eagles timeout, the ball was inbounded to Williams who found some space and dribbled the middle of the floor. Finding a seam to the left side of the lane, he floated the ball over the Pioneers defender that bounced off the front rim, off the backboard, and into the basket as the final buzzer sounded.
Five La Sierra players finished the game scoring in double-figures, a season high for the Golden Eagles. Andre Marquez led the team with a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds, in addition to three assists and no turnovers. Kevin Batiste added a double-double of his own with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Joining Jones (six rebounds) with 12 points was Williams (four rebounds). Rounding out the scoring was Reynaldo Solorzano who finished with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
After shooting just 35-percent from the field in the first half of play, the Golden Eagles shot 21-for-26 in the second half (58%), they also connected on some clutch free throws down the stretch and capitalized on 10 of their 13 total attempts from the charity stripe. Also of note, La Sierra held a 50-35 advantage on the boards, including 15 offensive rebounds.
Antelope Valley who is No. 4 in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (43%) was held to 3-for-15 from the arc (20%). Additionally, the Pioneers are No. 11 in the nation in total field goal percentage (49%) and finished the game 27-for-66 (41%).
The win vaults the Golden Eagles into second place of the Cal Pac standings, a half game ahead of Simpson University. Tonight, marked the end of the first trip around the conference for La Sierra. The team will host Antelope Valley, on Saturday night, to start the second trip around the conference. Saturday night's tip is scheduled for 6:30pm.
