El Vaquero

Issue date: 1/14/10 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Richard Kontas Vaquero head coach imparts words of wisdom to inspire the overtime win Jan. 9.

Once again, the Vaqueros were outsized, and seemingly out of time against another Western State Conference opponent.

But this time, on their home floor, the shots that didn't fall a few days earlier went in, and the execution that had been absent finally began to take shape. The end result was one of the most thrilling games in recent memory for the Glendale men's basketball program.

Sophomore guard Deonte Wyatt had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and hit the game's crucial 3-pointer near the end of regulation, and the Vaqs pulled off an impressive come-from-behind victory in overtime against the Santa Monica Corsairs, 84-80, Saturday night in Verdugo Gym.


Slideshow Media Credit: Richard Kontas

The win improved the Vaqs' record to 10-8 overall and 1-1 in the Western State Conference, and exacted a bit of revenge on the Corsairs (8-8), who won in the teams' previous meeting 70-62 in the Rio Hondo Tournament last month.

Wyatt, who had been struggling with his shot, including a four-for-17 performance last week at LA Valley, made eight of 17 shots this time, none bigger than his 3-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation.

Santa Monica led 70-69, but Corsairs center Bryant Crowder missed two free-throws with under 20 seconds to go. Glendale grabbed the rebound and got it to Wyatt, who pulled up behind the line on the left side and drained the shot.

With the crowd in a frenzy, Santa Monica guard Eric Bell took the inbounds pass and went the length of the court and hit a runner as he was fouled with 5.3 seconds left to tie the game. It didn't spell doom for Glendale, though, because he missed the free throw, and the game went into overtime.

Wyatt's shot helped complete a Vaquero comeback in a game they trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half.

"It was actually a broken play," Wyatt said of his shot. "[Santa Monica's Johnell] Young was jawing a little bit, telling me he was shutting me down on the play before, so I saw an opportunity and I just took it."

Continued...

Page 1 of 3 next >

Article Tools