SCC Comes Alive in Second Half to Win Big

Bill Reynolds has been waiting for a breakthrough game from his Southern California College men’s basketball team, and Wednesday night at SCC the Vanguards might have provided it.

SCC defeated Christian Heritage, 97-77, turning a competitive game into a blowout with a second-half blitz. But it was the way the Vanguards did it that impressed Reynolds.

“I think we played extremely well in the second half,” Reynolds said. “We played with a lot of energy, and I thought we started to exhibit some of the things we think we are capable of doing.”

Fellow Golden State Athletic Conference coaches were convinced before the season when they picked the Vanguards to finish second in the conference. The expectations were based on the perception that this would be Reynolds’ most athletically talented team in recent years.

But Reynolds thought the team wasn’t living up to its potential, and with conference play starting next week, time is running out.

Wednesday was a step in the right direction, but Christian Heritage (8-9) put up a battle. The Hawks were hanging tough, trailing 59-55 with 15 minutes 33 seconds left to play. But SCC’s Adam Dzierzynski and Eric Walker made consecutive three-point shots and Walker then rebounded his own shot and scored to give the Vanguards a 10-point lead with 13:45 left.

Christian Heritage hung around, but couldn’t maintain SCC’s frenetic pace. SCC led by 24 at one point.

Dzierzynski, the point guard who took a year off after starting at Chapman for two seasons, had an outstanding game. He scored 23 points, including a 22-foot three-pointer at the buzzer that gave the Vanguards a 50-47 halftime lead. He had four assists, three steals and no turnovers.

Terence Wilborn, the former Mater Dei forward who transferred from San Jose State, and Walker each had 17 points. Marlon Watson had 13 points--all in the first half--eight assists, three blocks and two steals.