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SoCal High School & Prep Report

More Ridgecrest: Burroughs v. Sultana--(January 28, 1998)

Burroughs 55, Sultana 54

Again, this comes to us via the ridge route. Burroughs and Sultana played as even as two teams could in Mojave River League boys basketball Friday night. And when all was said and done, the game was decided in little more than a blink of an eye. Iyare Iwerieber drove the right baseline and flipped a shot that fell with two seconds to play in overtime to lift Sultana over Burroughs 55-54 in the first-half finale for both teams.

Iwerieber finished with just 12 points on the night, with guard Anthony Chapman leading Sultana with 16. Nelson Taylor added 13 in the winning effort. Sultana started the game much better than Burroughs, outscoring the locals 18-9 in the first quarter. They continued the run with a 14-10 second period that left them with a 32-19 halftime lead.

"We came into the gym tonight and there was just an eerie feeling in there," said Burroughs Co-Head Coach Robert Campbell after the loss. "It was like both teams were warming for a scrimmage. That's no excuse, because it's our job as coaches to get them ready to play. But for some reason I'm not sure of they just weren't ready to go. There was no emotion and it was a low-key atmosphere out there."

That atmosphere began to change just before halftime when reserve guard Chris Pich entered the game and played some inspired basketball. After entering the game he put the locals on a 6-0 mini-run that made the lead just 13 points for Sultana going into the locker room.

The slight change in momentum became a near landslide as the Burros went on a 16-4 run that lasted into the fourth quarter when Burroughs took a 38-36 lead with 5:57 to play in regulation. Sultana tied the game moments later, but one of Trey Montoya's five 3-pointers in the game followed and put the locals up 41-38.

Sultana tied the game and took a three-point lead with 27 seconds to play on a bucket by Chapman and a free throw by Taylor. But with 11.4 seconds to go, Montoya netted another 3-pointer to send the game into overtime. There had been only two lead changes in regulation, but four more followed in extra period with Sultana getting the final one as time expired and the Burros with no timeouts left. "It just wasn't in the cards tonight," said Bill Campbell, Burroughs other co-head coach, "but we'll continue to work hard because we believe in these kids."

Burroughs comeback in the second half was keyed by emotion and very sound ball handling. After making 10 first-half turnovers, the Burros made just three the rest of the game, one in each period. Montoya finished with a game-high 25 for Burroughs, also getting eight steals and six assists. David Rollingson had 11 points and 14 rebounds, while freshman Rory O'Neil had nine points, 11 boards and seven blocked shots. Point guard Archie Curtis failed to score but tied Montoya with six assists.

Burroughs will get a week off before starting the second round of MRL play Friday against Barstow in a home game slated for a 7 p.m. start.

SULTANA-Chapman 16, Brock 2, Iwerieber 12, Reaber 2, Saunders 2, Tackett 7, Feenstra 1, Taylor 13

BURROUGHS-Stephenson 3, Montoya 25, Pich 2, Jones 4, O'Neil 9, Rollingson 11