Chris Pacana

From AngelFire

In a thrilling quadruple-overtime game, Chaffey outlasted host LA City to win the Egg Nog Tournament Championship. PG Sheldon Pace led the way for Chaffey and was named tourney MVP. Pace had a triple double with 32 pts, 11 asts and 10 steals, and made big plays at the end of regulation and the end of the first overtime to preserve Chaffey's chances. SG Calvin Afualo scored 30 pts including 8 threes, and SF Prentice Harris added 20 pts including 3 threes, and scored what proved to be the decisive points. PG Jerel Blassingame led LA City with 27 pts plus 7 rebs and 8 asts before fouling out with 2:41 left in OT #4.

Each team had mulitple chances to win the game. Blassingame gave City a 74-73 lead with 13.7 secs left in regulation. After an unsuccessful Chaffey shot, Tony Key grabbed the rebound and was fouled. But he made just 1 of the 2 free throws, and Pace scored on an acrobatic layup with 1.8 secs left to tie the game and send it to the first OT.

LA City scored the first 8 pts of the first OT and still led by 8 at 87-79 with just over 2 minutes left. However, the Panthers stormed back, tying the game with Pace stole an inbounds pass and fed Chris Pacana for a bucket to tie it at 88. LA City again took a lead in the 2nd OT but Chaffey tied the game on a three by Pacana. Blassingame had a chance to win the game after that, but his 3-pt attempt bounced off the rim.

In the 3rd OT, Chaffey took a 101-99 lead on 2 free throws by Harris, but City tied it on 2 free throws by Justice Graham. Chaffey had one last chance to win in OT #3 but a swarm of Cubs near the basket kept it tied at 101.

Harris' basket with 57 secs left in OT #4 gave Chaffey a 111-109 lead. After a miss by Graham, Chaffey got the rebound and City was forced to foul Afualo, who made both free throws. That made it 113-109 with 13 secs left. Tony Key scored on a putback and was fouled with 0.9 secs left. He missed the free throw intentionally, but the ball rolled out of bounds as the horn sounded, giving Chaffey the win.

By the 4th overtime, both teams were running out of players. Four Panthers fouled out, and LA City lost 3 players (Blassingame to a 5th foul, Riley and Gantt to injuries).

The Chaffey press got the Panthers off to a quick start and bothered the Cubs the whole game. Two 3-pointers by Afualo and a layup by Pace gave Chaffey an 8-0 lead in the first minute. By halftime LA City had edged ahead, 38-35, but had committed 11 turnovers in the half. They committed 25 turnovers on the night (17 of which were steals) compared to just 12 for Chaffey.

Unofficial Box Score:

Saturday, Dec 29, 2001 - 7 pm
Egg Nog Classic @ LA City
Championship Game

Chaffey Panthers 113:
3-Calvin Afualo, SG - 10/22 fg, 2/2 ft, 4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 30 pts
4-Sheldon Pace, PG - 15/33 fg, 2/6 ft, 5 reb, 11 ast, 10 stl, 32 pts
21-Corey Starks, PF - 0/3 fg, 3 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 0 pts
23-Prentice Harris, SF - 7/10 fg, 3/4 ft, 2 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl, 20 pts
50-Jabari Buchanan, C - 1/3 fg, 5 reb, 2 pts
32-Chris Adams, F - 6/9 fg, 2/2 ft, 6 reb, 1 stl, 14 pts
42-Lionel Davis, F - 3/5 fg, 0/2 ft, 7 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 6 pts
22-Chris Pacana, G - 3/10 fg, 1 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 7 pts
41-Jeff Henry, F - 0 pts
24-Michael Sterling, F - 1/2 fg, 3 reb, 2 pts
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 46/97 fg (.474), 9/16 ft (.563), 42 reb, 24 ast, 1 blk, 17 stl, 113 pts

3-pt fg: Afualo 8, Harris 3, Pacana
Fouled Out: Buchanan 1:40 left in reg, Davis 1:32 left in 1st OT, Starks 1:12 left in 1st OT, Adams 22.3 left in 3rd OT
Turnovers (12): Pace 3, Adams 3, Pacana 2, Afualo, Starks, Buchanan, Davis

Los Angeles City Cubs 111:
3-Tyrone Riley, PF - 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 0 pts
5-Justice Graham, SG - 4/12 fg, 7/9 ft, 4 reb, 15 pts
10-Jeral Blassingame, PG - 9/17 fg, 8/12 ft, 7 reb, 8 ast, 2 stl, 27 pts
33-Wilbur Williams, SF - 8/12 fg, 3/5 ft, 7 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 20 pts
34-Terrell Gantt, C - 0/3 fg, 2 reb, 2 blk, 0 pts
50-Tony Key, C - 4/7 fg, 5/10 ft, 13 reb, 1 blk, 13 pts
0-Jason Breland, G - 1/5 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 2 pts
21-Calvert Wright, G - 4/8 fg, 1/2 ft, 4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 12 pts
13-Oso Esene, F - 4/9 fg, 5/6 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 13 pts
00-Eric Alvarez, G - 1/1 fg, 2 reb, 2 ast, 2 pts
12-Ainas Lazdauskas, C - 3/4 fg, 1/2 ft, 4 reb, 1 blk, 7 pts
team rebounds: 9
Totals: 38/78 fg (.487), 30/46 ft (.652), 63 reb, 17 ast, 6 blk, 4 stl, 111 pts

3-pt fg: Wright 3, Blassingame, Williams
Fouled Out: Blassingame 2:41 left in 4th OT
Turnovers (25): Williams 7, Graham 5, Breland 3, Wright 3, Riley 2, Blassingame 2, Gantt, Key, Esene

Halftime Score: LA City 38, Chaffey 35
End Regulation: Tied at 75
End First OT: Tied at 88
End Second OT: Tied at 93
End Third OT: Tied at 101

Harris scored the winning pts on a fg with 57 secs left in OT #4 and 2 FTs with 13 secs left. Key's putback dunk with 0.9 left made it 113-111 and he was fouled. He missed the FT intentionally but the ball rolled out of bounds as the horn sounded. Graham's 2 FTs sent the game to OT #4. Pacana's 3-pointer near the end of OT #2 kept it alive for Chaffey, and Blassingame's 3-pointer at the horn bounced off the rim. A Pace steal and feed to Harris allowed Chaffey to overcome an 8-point deficit and tie the game at the end of OT #1. Pace's acrobatic layup with 1.8 left in reg tied it up and sent it to OT. Gantt (shoulder) and Riley (ankle) were injured during the game for LA City. LA City entered 18-1 and ranked #2 in South / #3 in Calif. Chaffey entered 13-3 but with 10 straight wins.