As the final seconds ran off the clock, different emotions ran through the Hornets bench. There were tears, straight faces, and mouths open in shock. A team that is not used to coming up short had to experience all of those feelings on one of the biggest stages in basketball as Fullerton College fell to College of the Sequoias 71-60 in the 3C2A Final Four on Saturday night at Mt. SAC.
For the latter reaction, the shock started with seven seconds left in the game. With the Hornets up 52-50 and sophomore captain RJ Banks on the free throw line, he had one more shot left to try and force COS into needing a 3-pointer to tie.
Before the free throws, COS head coach Dallas Jensen, while he calmly applied some chapstick, asked one of the referees to give him a timeout as soon as one of his players got the ball over to his corner of the sideline. This gesture would set up the most crucial play of the Giants’ season.
COS sophomore guard Jose Cuello from Harlem, New York, naturally was chirping at Banks as he walked to the free throw line. Whether it caused Banks to miss that second free throw or not, no one can know, but the tactic either way appeared to be effective.
Cuello took the outlet pass, dribbled right over to his coach at that agreed spot. Without skipping a beat, Jensen waved for him to go for it. Using the momentary hesitation, Cuello got a step on OEC Defensive Player of the Year Amound Anderson II, and put up a crazy, running yet fadeaway shot falling towards his bench.
Unlike the movies, there was no dramatic, slow-mo moment where you see every revolution of the ball as it soars through the air. Not this time. This shot was a fast, straight laser that never touched the rim. This was the only shot Cuello made in the second half in ten attempts.
There was a ton of confusion as the horn sounded. First off, did that shot really go in? Second, was that a 3-pointer, meaning COS had won the game? And third, why does the scoreboard say 54-50 in favor of Fullerton?
All three questions were answered in a short amount of time by the referees. Yes, that shot sure did go in. It is highly unlikely for a shot with that little amount of arc to hit all net, but it did. Cuello’s toe was indeed on the arc, so this was a very, very long 2-pointer. As for the scoreboard, that was just user error amidst the chaos of someone hitting a buzzer beater in the Final Four of the 3C2A state tournament. Fans found themselves ready to watch five more minutes of free basketball.
As to be expected, the momentum had completely shifted to the Giants (27-5), and as they scored the first four points of overtime, the Hornets looked dead in the water. However, a 3-point play from sophomore guard Jeremiah Davis brought Fullerton back within a point. That is as close as the Hornets got to taking the game back in their favor.
The Giants shot 6-8 from the field and 7-9 from the free throw line in overtime. Fullerton’s offense struggled throughout the entire game, but it was magnified in the extra period, as they shot 2-8 with two turnovers.
“I would have liked to see us play a little better offensively,” said Hornets head coach Perry Webster. “I felt like we were exerting so much energy just to get stops so that we really couldn’t exert energy on offense.”
That offensive struggle was real during all 45 minutes of this game for both teams. For the Hornets, they started out making only one field goal in the first six minutes of the game. Down 9-2 and looking for a spark, Webster turned to his sharp shooting big man, freshman Shawn Woodson out of a timeout. He came in and splashed two straight 3-pointers to bring the score to 11-8 in favor of COS.
At around the seven-minute mark, freshman forward JQ Strong hit a top of the key 3-pointer, giving the Hornets their first lead of the game at 21-20. After that shot, there were six lead changes to close out the first half. Fullerton took a 33-30 lead into the break.
In the second half, both teams had a hard time putting the ball in the hoop. Fullerton shot 24% from the field including 0-12 from 3-point land. COS was not much better, shooting 32% from the field and 1-6 from beyond the arc.
Davis led all scorers with 22 points, as he was the only constant on offense for Fullerton. He was able to get wherever he wanted to on the floor, despite COS playing two 6 ‘9 centers that clogged up his usual mid-range space.
“My guys trust me.. I love them for that,” said Davis. “I just let the game come to me and just took advantage of that and played to my strengths.”
Also atop the scoring column for the Hornets was Anderson II, Strong, and sophomore guard Jaden Byers, who all chipped in nine points apiece.
College of the Sequoias had four different players score in double digits, led by sophomore guard Omari Nesbit with 18 points. He had help from freshman forward Jaden Haire who scored 16 points, Cuello with 14 points, and sophomore center Cameron Clark added 13 points off the bench.
Trying to put a bow on the season where Fullerton College finished with a record of 27-5, Webster had nothing but admiration for his team that went down fighting.
“I love coaching these guys. I love RJ Banks, I love Jeremiah Davis, I love all of them,” said Webster. “Those guys have made a hell of an imprint on me… A remarkable career for those guys [Banks and Davis]. I’m proud to be a Hornet, and I’m going to continue being proud to be a Hornet.”
