FONTANA, Ca. – A couple of teams from the Baseline League with contrasting styles will hoop up for the championship of the Inland Empire Tournament Saturday night at 7:30 at AB Miller High.
Etiwanda and Rancho Cucamonga won their semifinals in different – but equally impressive – fashions Friday evening.
Rancho Cucamonga improved to 8-1 with its 73-46 victory over Victorville Silverado, getting 29 points (including five 3s) from senior wing Malcolm Drumwright and 13 more from junior point guard Victor Joseph.
And then Etiwanda (6-2) avenged one of its two defeats with a 54-49 decision over previously unbeaten Corona Centennial, which knocked off the Eagles (76-67) on Nov. 30 during a semifinal of the Tip-Off at the Empire Invitational on Centennial’s home floor.
While the Cougars continually beat Silverado in transition – after clearing defensive rebounds and forcing turnovers – and capitalized via the jump shooting of the likes of Drumwright, the Eagles’ half-court defense, led by 6-foot-5 Sheldon Blackwell, was smothering Centennial’s set-up offense.
And that other end of the floor the Eagles – without star junior point guard Jordan McLaughlin on the bench, his sprained right ankle (suffered Wednesday) resting in a walking boot – ground out the shot clock, often cumulating possessions by punching the ball inside to posts strong and bouncy posts Tim Myles and Kenny Barnes (19 points), or getting jump shots by Dominic Alexander (14 point, including four 3s).
In McLaughlin’s absence, Blackwell became his team’s primary ball handler and he did a commendable job with his decision making and ability to facilitate Coach Dave Kleckner’s attack.
The 76 points Centennial scored in its Nov. 30 victory? Those were the fewest the Huskies had collected during their 8-0 start.
UC Riverside-bound guard Sam Finley accounted for nearly half (22 points) of his team’s scoring Friday night.
In other games I watched Friday:
*Eastvale Roosevelt 42, Perris 41: Each team had an outstanding guard, 6-3 Justin Simon for Roosevelt and 6-0 Tristan Hunter for Perris.
*AB Miller 68, Colony 65: Everett Turner missed a contested jumper from the right wing that would have tied the score at the buzzer.
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