By Brittain Kelly
Copper Mountain College Men’s
Basketball team was back in action Friday afternoon, as they took on
West LA College in the opening game of the San Bernardino Valley
College Alvin Hunter Classic. CMC looked to bounce back after
suffering a tough, early-season loss up north a couple of weeks ago.
West LA would be a good test to see if the Fighting Cacti had
regained their focus and winning play by getting a chance to face the
talented SoCal team out of Culver City.
Coach Walter Parham, on
his 34th birthday, coached a strategic masterpiece in the first half
due to great execution and tremendous effort, along with freshman
sharp shooter Tray Jackson “catching fire” with consecutive
long-range threes. Copper Mountain held a comfortable 37-25 lead at
the half.
To begin the second half, CMC came out of the locker
room determined to give their head coach his requested birthday gift
(a victory). His team seemed to be well on their way to doing so
behind the stellar play of sophomore standout Dilon Voyles. The
Fighting Cacti extended their lead to as much as 17 points in the
second half.
West LA changed the tempo of play and made a major surge late in the game, cutting the Cacti lead to two points, 72-70 with 1:41 to go. Clutch free throws down the stretch from redshirt freshman and big time playmaker AJay Woods, along with a pair from Dilon Voyles, sealed the deal for Copper Mountain as they hung on for a good, quality team win 79-76.
Dilon Voyles led all scorers with a game high 22 points. AJay Woods scored 15 points, and also made crucial plays in the closing minutes. Tray Jackson netted 13 points to go along with five rebounds, and sophomore Big Man Zack Kroker snagged 10 rebounds, and also added five blocks to his performance.
CMC improved to 2-1.
The Copper Mountain College players had their hands full Saturday night in the second round of the Alvin Hunter Classic at San Bernardino Valley College.
Coming off a quality opening round win
against West LA College, CMC faced its biggest test so far this
season by taking on the fourth-ranked team in California, East LA
College.
The Huskies of East LA came into the game 5-0 and looked
to stay undefeated.
The first half was full of action, both teams
played hard and withstood each other’s respective runs. CMC, behind
another masterful coaching scheme put together by Parham, and with
the consistent play of sophomore leader Dilon Voyles, the Fighting
Cacti held a solid 15-point lead , 42-27 at the half.
East LA
would not go away quietly, though, and they opened the half on a 11-0
run and turned the game into a dog fight for the final 15 minutes of
play. CMC scratched and clawed its way out, to prevail with the 78-76
victory.
Dilon Voyles has been a man on a mission so far this
season and he led all scorers again, with a new college career high,
finishing with 30 points on the night.
Sophomore Forward Hyking Brisbon recorded a double double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman point guard Tyler Hudson tallied his second consecutive game with nine points and five or more assists for the Fighting Cacti.
Sunday was the third game in three days for the Fighting Cacti of Copper Mountain College. “The pride of the Morongo Basin” have been playing extremely well and looked to keep their winning streak alive by sweeping the competition in this weekend’s tournament.
CMC didn’t get a night off at the Alvin Hunter Classic. Friday and Saturday they sent a shockwave through the state by beating two of the top Ranked teams in California. Sunday night, their test wasn’t any easier as they took on traditional power and tournament host, San Bernardino Valley College.
Sunday’s tournament championship game
was the first of three meetings that the two teams will have against
each other this season. From the looks of it, this series won’t
disappoint. In the first 20 minute-segment, the teams went back and
forth the entire half going into halftime all knotted up at
32-32.
Coach Parham always says, “It’s the Tale of Two Halfs,”
and that’s exactly what it was for CMC. In the second half, the
Fighting Cacti were deflated by the frequent foul calls, which
ultimately led to a change of tempo in the game. Multiple Cacti were
in foul trouble and at one point it seemed as if Parham would run out
of personnel for CMC.
One of the biggest blows came with 7:23 remaining when star sophomore Dillon Voyles was fouled out of the game with his fifth personal foul. In a game where 40-plus free throws were shot amongst the two teams in just the second half alone (70-plus for the game), Parham did a wonderful job coaching his team through that period of adversity. Copper Mountain gave a valiant effort cutting the lead to as low as six points in the final moments, but ended up falling short 78-87.
Dillon Voyles led the Fighting Cacti in scoring in the fifth consecutive game with 22 points, also grabbing five rebounds.
Freshman point guard Tyler Hudson, who also fouled out of the game, finished with 14 points and four assists. Hyking Brisbon chipped in 10 points and six rebounds for CMC.
Congratulations to Dillon Voyles and
Hyking Brisbon for being selected to the Alvin Hunter Classic
All-Tournament Team.
Although Copper Mountain fell to 3-2 on the
year with Sunday’s loss, they had a successful weekend as a whole.
The Fighting Cacti proved to be a force to be reckoned with. CMC is
back in the desert for their home opener Friday November 22, against
undefeated Santiago Canyon College. Tip-off is at 5 p.m.
