COM’s dream season ends with 73-70 loss to Cañada
One step short of a trip to the final four of the state tournament, the College of Marin men's basketball team's dream season came to an end on Saturday night.
The third-seeded Mariners (26-4) pulled within a point of No. 10 Cañada College in the waning stages of the game after trailing by as many as 17 in the second half. COM missed a go-ahead shot in the final 5 seconds and a game-tying 3-point attempt at the buzzer hit the iron in a 73-70 loss against the Colts.
"It was a pretty historic year for our program," COM coach Dave Granucci said. "I'll tell you this — this is not a one-time thing. We're going to be back and do this again. We've worked too hard as a staff. The sophomores have laid down a foundation and we'd do them disservice to not continue to build off of that."
COM trailed 40-34 at the half but was ice-cold from the floor to start the second half. Meanwhile, the Colts got a trio of 3-pointers by Manny Martin, Crisshawn Clark and Rohndell Goodwin to extend the lead to 55-38 midway through the half.
"We had to change the game," Granucci said. "We decided to press full-court and push the ball up more. … We had to battle a lot of adversity but that's something we pride ourselves on — that we can handle adversity."
COM needed a spark and got it, in part thanks to Milton Jackson's on-the-ball defense. Jackson came up with a number of deflections and steals to help the Mariners chip away at the lead.
"We have guys on our team that take pride in their defense," Granucci said. "That's special and not everyone does that but he does. … He comes in the game and changes the dynamic."
When Miller Blake banked in a lay-up to carve the lead to 57-47 with under 10 minutes to play, the pro-Mariners crowd started to believe. The cheers got louder still when Pierre Carter hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 57-50.
"(COM's comeback) was unbelievable," Cañada coach Mike Reynoso said. "I told the team that this team is not going to go away without a fight. With a trip to the final four on the line, this team will not lay down."
The Colts (24-6) kept COM at arm's length until COM made another surge with less than 5 minutes to play.
A steal by Jackson led to a 3-pointer by Luke Chavez and the Mariners were within 64-61 with 3:55 to play. A jump shot by Stan Kaya pulled the Mariners within 64-63 but, try as they might, the Mariners could never take the lead.
Cañada answered back with Kenny Hatch going to the free-throw line on three consecutive possessions.
"(Hatch) made a lot of free throws down the stretch," Reynoso said. "There's no one else we'd rather have at the line."
Luke Chavez hit a lay-up and a pair of free throws to get COM within 71-70 in the final 20 seconds. But COM's last two shots were off the mark and Goodwin's free throws accounted for the final margin.
A crowd of appreciative COM fans stayed 20 minutes after the game ended to give the team a standing ovation.
"I think the people that come to our games, they know what they are going to get — a team that plays its heart out," Granucci said.
Pierre Carter led COM with 11 points. Kaya added 10 while Chavez and Willie Rooks added nine apiece.
COM trailed almost the entire first half, leading just once when Chavez hit a 3-pointer to give the Mariners a 10-9 lead. Cañada kept the Mariners at bay the rest of the half, but never led by more than six points.
The Colts' leading scorer — Goodwin, who came off the bench to score a game-high 24 points — proved to be a tough matchup for the Mariners. Goodwin led all scorers with 17 points at the half.
Rooks kept COM close, scoring seven points in a row for the Mariners late in the half. A steal by Kaya led to a mid-range jumper by Rooks.
On the next possession, a steal by Chavez led to Rooks hitting a tough floater in the lane to trim the lead to 33-31. Rooks led the Mariners with nine points at the half.
Goodwin closed the half with a flourish though, accounting for six of the Colts' last nine points before the break to give them a 40-34 lead.