Vaqueros beat Valley 70-59 to reach Classic final

Thomas Walker led a balanced attack with 15 points and six rebounds on Friday night and SBCC downed L.A. Valley 70-59 to reach the final of the 42nd annual SBCC Classic men's basketball tournament.

The Vaqueros (4-4) won their fourth straight and stayed perfect at home (4-0) by shooting 57.7 percent in the opening half and building a 38-21 lead. The margin grew to 25 points (50-25) on back-to-back 3-pointers by Sean Keyes with 14:15 to play.

L.A. Valley, which beat the Vaqueros in their second game of the year 68-55 on Nov. 7, went to a full-court press and produced an 18-4 run that cut the deficit to 11 at 54-43. The Monarchs (3-5) kept chipping away and got within five (61-56) on a layup by Travis Harlin Jr. with 1:36 to play.

"We played really well in the first half, we were knocking down a lot of shots," said Walker, a 6-7 sophomore who hit 7-9 from the field, including three jumpers in the 14-to-17 foot range. "In the second half, we could have picked it up more on the press but we were able to get it done in the end. The shots were falling for me today and when they're falling, you have to let it fly."

Freshman forward Jonathan Montez had his best game of the year with season highs of 13 points and 12 rebounds. Keyes added 13 points and Alonzo McCain had 12 points and four assists.

Alex Koutroubis grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, helping the Vaqueros to a commanding 47-26 advantage on the boards. SBCC shot a season-best 51.1 percent and held the Monarchs to 32.8 percent.

After Valley got within five points, Keyes scored a breakaway layin and McCain hit a pair of free throws to boost the lead to nine. Roger White hit a 3 for the Monarchs but SBCC scored the last five points to seal the victory.

"We did a better job of keeping our composure at the end," said Walker. "Our team chemistry has really improved during this win streak. We're sharing the ball and we're bonding together."

The Vaqueros made 15-19 from the free-throw line while Valley converted just 50 percent (12-24).

"The first time we played them was a learning experience," said McCain, who was 6-6 from the foul line. "We're gaining experience every game and we're learning how to play with each other. The team chemistry is shooting through the roof."

The Vaqueros jumped ahead 7-0 in the first five minutes. After Valley pulled within one at 14-13, SBCC went on a 19-4 run, capped by back-to-back triples from McCain and Koutroubis, a 16-footer from Walker and a short bank by Montez that boosted the lead to 33-17.

"We really played solid defense and we were able to attack and score," said coach Morris Hodges. "We did a good job defending, particularly on No. 4 (Jordan Brown who scored 12 points on 3-13 shooting) and No. 12 (Michael Morrissey, 14 points). They had big shooting nights on Thursday and we wanted to make sure they didn't get going on the 3s.

 "It was good to see Jon Montez have a breakout game. It's been nice to see different guys leading us during our win streak. We didn't shoot free throws well at the start of the year but we've been working on them hard. And we've had clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch in the last four games."

In Friday's late game, Victor Valley edged Hancock 83-82 to move into the championship final against the Vaqueros. They'll square off at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

SBCC reached the final of its own tourney for the first time in seven years. The Vaqueros have won the Classic eight times with the most recent titles coming in 2004 and 2006.

In other games on Friday, Irvine Valley topped Pasadena 72-56 and Cypress defeated Miramar 64-57. Irvine Valley and Cypress will square off in the consolation final on Saturday at 3 p.m., followed by Hancock and L.A. Valley in the third-place game at 5 p.m.