El Camino spoiled Chargers home opener
Chargers rally came up short
Cypress, CA - First year coach Chris St Clair's moment was Wednesday Night's home opener. The game plan went according to schedule: the offense was clicking but more importantly the defense was tight. The Chargers (1-3) led 47-35 at the half but understood that the game was anything but over as El Camino's high octane offense was about to shift gear. The Warriors chipped back in the second half and managed to tie the game at 80-80 with 2.3 seconds. The Chargers had last possession but did not score. The teams exchanged baskets in the overtime period and with the score locked at 87-87, the Warriors (3-0) had the ball with 26 seconds and called their last timeout. Elmo Smith scored 6 points and 4 in the overtime period including the last 5-foot bankshot with half a second left to lead 89-87. The Chargers inbounded the ball but Julius Von Hanzlik shot went wide.
Note: Chris Kapono started at PG in place of Cassie Hough and went down with an ankle injuty that may sideline him for a month. Kapono finished the game with 9 points, 1 assists and 5 fouls... The Chargers only turned over the ball 14 times but a crucial one at the end of the game which allowed El Camino to get the last possession of the ball in the OT period... Sophomore Montel Taylor scored 19 points and pulled down 8 boards to lead the team in both categories... Von Hanzlik shot 4-of-7 from the 3-point line, 6 assists and 2 blocks...Former coach Don Johnson was in attendance along with former players Rick Darnell (70-72)...
