In basketball, championship caliber teams cannot be judged on how they play just on their good nights. When all the shots are falling, and the bounces going your way.
How does the team react when the shots aren't falling? When you're struggling to make every play that seemed so easy just a few weeks ago, before the playoffs began.
The San Bernardino Valley College men's basketball team proved themselves Saturday night that they can handle adversity. They battled through on a night when the shots didn't come easily to knock off Pasadena City College 63-58 in the California Community College Athletic Association Southern California Regional Final game Saturday night inside the SBVC Athletics Center.
The Lancers outshot the Wolverines from the field Saturday night, as Pasadena converted on 41.5 percent of its shots, compared to only 39.7 percent for SBVC. The Lancers held Dominique Daniels in check throughout the night, limiting him to 13 points on the night - his lowest point performance since the season opener against Compton. Armon Muldrew struggled as well, finishing with 12 points - 9 of which came on three 3-pointers.
But in their stead came Chine Nwanevu, who became a presence in the paint. The freshman finished the game with a team-high 14 points - including going 6-for-6 from the field - and pulling down 11 rebounds. Duwon Franklin came off the bench in the second half to give the Wolverines a spark. His steal and a dunk brought crowd back into the game, as he finished with six points and four rebounds in 12 minutes of action.
SBVC led by as many as 10 in the first half, but held a one-point lead after 20 minutes. The game see-sawed back and forth for most of the second half, with Pasadena leading by three with 3:59 remaining. The two teams exchanged the lead 11 times, with the game being tied 10 times.
The Wolverines were down one as the final minute neared. Nigel Wilson fouled Aamari Smith going for a rebound of a missed Pasadena shot with 1:02 to go. Smith knocked down the two free throws on the other end to give SBVC the lead. Nwanevu pulled down the rebound on a missed shot from Shant Chenorhavorian, and the Wolverines worked the clock, eventually going to Nwanevu underneath, where he was fouled. His two free throws gave the Wolverines a three-point lead with 15 seconds to go.
Pasadena's Myles Watkins attempted a three-pointer for the tie that missed, and Daniels got the rebound and was fouled. He knocked down the final two free throws to close out the win.
The Wolverines advance to the state Elite Eight tournament, which will take place March 9, 11-12 at West Hills College in Lemoore. The Wolverines, who advance as the No. 4 seed from the South, will take on San Francisco City College, the North's No. 1 seed, in a game Thursday with a time to be announced.
