Cuesta Cougars rally past Allan Hancock, keep conference title hopes alive
The past two weeks have been somewhat frustrating for the Cuesta College men’s basketball team, which had to make Wednesday night’s comeback victory that much sweeter.
Having lost three of their last four contests entering the final home game of the regular season, the Cougars rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to secure a 89-84 victory over visiting Allan Hancock inside Cuesta Gym.
With the victory, Cuesta improved to 22-8 overall and 8-3 in the Western State Conference heading into Saturday’s regular season finale at Moorpark. That game will determine the outright conference champion, providing the Cougars an opportunity to win their third consecutive Western State Conference title.
“Tonight was a gut check,” head coach Rusty Blair said. “We knew that our backs were against the wall.”
How it happened:
The Bulldogs (12-17, 4-8 Western State Conference) used a 19-6 run to go ahead 72-61 with less than seven minutes remaining.
Looking to avoid a third consecutive loss, the Cougars tightened up defensively and sophomore point guard Beñat Hevia provided an aggressive spark on offense. He made back-to-back 3-pointers, and Andres Aguado’s layup in transition cut Cuesta’s deficit to 75-73 with 42.8 second left in regulation.
Sophomore forward Evgeniy Moiseev made two free throws with 1.2 seconds remaining to force overtime. He went on to make four more shots at the free-throw line in the extra period to help the Cougars keep their conference championship hopes alive.
As a team, Cuesta is shooting 66.6 percent from the free-throw line this season. That’s particularly frustrating for Blair, who was an elite free throw shooter during his professional playing career overseas.
“It’s not their fundamentals on that,” Blair said. “It’s completely between the ears.”
Who stood out:
Hevia turned in one of his best statistical performances of the season on a night when Cuesta needed it most.
The first-team all-conference point guard scored a career-high 27 points on 7-for-10 shooting from behind the 3-point line. He also handed out seven assists and grabbed six rebounds while playing every minute of the game.
Moiseev contributed a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds, and sophomore center Roberto Mantovani came off the bench to record 10 points and 12 rebounds in 28 minutes.
Sophomore forward Rafail Eleftheriou chipped in 13 points and five rebounds in the victory.
“We knew we had to win to give us a chance for Saturday,” Blair said.
Coming home again:
Former Arroyo Grande High standout Matt Willkomm scored 27 points to lead Allan Hancock offensively. He went 7 of 11 from behind the 3-point line before fouling out in overtime.
Willkomm, a first-team all-conference performer as a freshman last season, set the Allan Hancock record for made 3-pointers in a single season with 87. That mark stood for 22 years, and he also finished his two-year career as the program’s all-time leader with 148 made 3-pointers.
What it means:
Moorpark (19-8, 8-3 Western State Conference) had a week off to prepare for Saturday night’s matchup, which Blair termed a “winner take all” scenario.
When the two teams last met back on Jan. 27, Aguado came off the bench to score a career-high 26 points on 8-for-9 shooting from behind the 3-point line. The outcome was never really in question, and the Cougars cruised to an 81-69 victory.
Since that game, however, Cuesta has gone 2-3 during its second trip through the conference schedule.
“To be truthful, I believe the players thought they won the championship when we beat Moorpark,” Blair said. “They thought it was all over. You can’t do that.”
Blair also said he believes the outright conference champion would have a strong enough résumé to warrant hosting a playoff game, but that won’t be determined until the end of the regular season Saturday night.
This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 11:03 PM with the headline "Cuesta Cougars rally past Allan Hancock, keep conference title hopes alive."