DEFENSE, DEPTH KEYS TO VICTORY FOR MARAUDERS AGAINST CHAFFEY

Photo by David Nurse

Mirror images? Maybe?

Both teams like to run. Both teams boast similar records. Both teams have much history against each other. The intense rivalry dates back even prior to the Newton Chelette-George Tarkanian era.

So what differentiates the Marauder men's basketball team and Chaffey? Not much as it seems.

Both teams enter Saturday night's game at Chaffey College for the right to punch its ticket to the Final Four of the State Championships.

The Marauders (25-6), seeded No. 7, have been sizzling as of late since somewhat of a brief hiatus midway through Western States Conference play where they lost three of four games. Since its mid-conference season woes, AVC has won seven of its last eight games, including a 96-86 victory on Wednesday against Citrus, a team the Marauders have beaten three times this season.

"It's going to be a grind. We know each other's style. They have good guards, but so do we," said AVC's Joseph Moorer. "We have been progressing game after game. Everybody is contributing. (Against Chaffey) we're trying to land the first punch. I think we can match anything they throw at us."

On the same note, the No. 3 seeded Panthers (24-6) have been just as hot. Chaffey has won 12 of its last 13 games, including a 73-71 overtime victory against Fullerton College on Wednesday night, which propelled it into Saturday night's matchup.

The Panthers are led by sophomore guard Victor Joseph, who leads the team by averaging 21.7 points per game, which ranks ninth in the state. However, this won't be the first time the Marauders have seen a bona fide scorer.

AVC faced LA Valley's Michael Morrissey, the state's sixth leading scorer (22.3ppg), three times this season. Morrissey did average 20 points per game against the Marauders, but AVC's stingy defense made him work for it. In three total games he only shot 14-of-37 from the field (38 percent).

One of the keys to victory for the Marauders is something they have not done well all season, guard the 3-point shot. In Wednesday night's victory against Citrus, the Owls connected on 11 3-pointers. Joseph averages three 3-pointers per game and shoots 48 percent from behind the arc.

AVC hopes to counter punch the Panthers from the outside with Moorer, who is shooting 39 percent from 3-point range and Cory Dollarhide (43 percent).

"Our main focus is taking away the three. That's what we worked on a lot in practice," AVC's Chris Martin said. "Intensity is the main word. We definitely can't play from behind. We know what's at stake."

Both Martin and Dollarhide, besides Moorer, are the only other two players to average in double figures for AVC, and both come off the bench.

However, that's not been a problem for any of the Marauder players this season. AVC has ten rostered players and all ten get significant playing time. Against Citrus, all ten players earned 16 minutes or more and five scored in double figures, including Nevell Lenard, who scored 12 of his team-high 16 points in the first six minutes of the game.

"We're real deep. Everyone gets quality minutes," Martin said. "Our depth helps us a lot. We're not worried about minutes because we're getting 'w's'."

Martin said another key is keeping Joseph under control. Since the Marauders play so many players, Martin said it's going to be hard for Joseph to continue to shoot 3-pointers, play defense on the other end and have as many as four different defenders on him at any point in the game.

Attrition was the key word for the victory against Citrus. Not many teams are as deep as the Marauders and slowly, slowly, slowly, AVC was able to wear the Owls down before putting them to sleep.

"I think we're playing better now, then when we were 14-1," AVC head coach John Taylor said.

It's only fitting the teams have split right down the middle 52 games against each other since 1968. The last time the Marauders faced each other in the playoffs was in 1999, which oh by the way, happened to be AVC's largest playoff victory ever, a 110-64 dismantling of the Panthers.

Maybe something to watch for.