COD Men’s Basketball wins Consolation Championship at IVC Holiday Classic

COD (3-11) rolled their way to the Consolation Championship, collecting an All-Tournament selection along the way, at the Imperial Valley Holiday Classic.

The Roadrunners took the 100 mile trek to the Imperial Valley and opened up the Holiday Classic with a match-up against the Wilmington Los Angeles Harbor Seahawks. After a close first half, the Seahawks pulled away late and the Roadrunners fell, 102-77.

Two players led the team with 16 points each, sophomore starting forward Donovan Wilson (Michigan City, IN) and sophomore starting forward Dajuan Fulgham (Montevallo, AL) were impressive. Wilson was 6 of 10 from the field and 4 of 6 from the free throw line and Fulgham was 6 of 11 from the field, in grabbing his second double-double of the season, which included a team leading 10 boards and three blocks on the afternoon. 

Freshman starting guard Shaquille Russell (Reseda Cleveland) added 11 points on 3 of 12 shooting, going 4 for 6 from the free throw line and leading the team with three assists and freshman guard James Burden (South Boston (VA) Halifax County) leapt off of the bench to contribute nine points on 4 of 12 shooting and lead the team in steals with three. 

On the Consolation side of the bracket, the Roadrunners faced off with the Centro de Enseñanza Técnica y Superior (CETYS) Zorros from Mexicali, Baja California. Desert would lead this contest from the tip-off, as the dominant inside presence ruled the day for the Roadrunners, who took a four point lead into the break, 27-23, then rolled to a 71-60 victory.

Freshman forward Gunnar Mogolis (Palm Desert H.S.) came off of the bench to lead the team with 13 points on 5 of 10 shooting and going 2 of 4 from three-point range and freshman guard Philippe Salawa (Fontana Azariel Blanchard Miller) also leapt off of the bench to score 11 points on 4 of 7 shooting on the afternoon.

In addition to the impressive assistance from the bench, this was one of the more balanced games of the season for the Desert starters. Three Roadrunners starters scored nine points and the other two scored eight points as Russell, Fulgham and Wilson led the starters with nine points. 
Fulgham was a point short of his third double-double of the season as he also grabbed 18 total boards, leading the team with three blocked shots and going an impressive 3 for 4 from the charity stripe.

Russell also went 3 for 4 from the free throw line and Wilson led the team with four assists and four steals in the win. 

In the Consolation Championship final, Desert met up with the Pasadena City Lancers (5-10) where both teams were deadlocked in a back-and-forth which got better as time expired. The Roadrunners went into the break up by five points, 42-37, then had to hold off a late rally by the Lancers to force the game into overtime, tied at 81-81. In the overtime period, both teams had leads that came and went and Desert hit a couple of shots late to seal the win, 93-91.

Russell grabbed his best performance of the season, securing a double-double with 24 points, on 6 of 19 shooting and going an impressive 11 for 12 from the free throw line along with 10 boards, to be named to the All-Tournament team. He also led the team in assists with six.

Salawa came off of the bench to add 17 points on 6 of 16 shooting and going 5 of 6 from the free throw line and Mogolis added 13 points off of the bench on 5 of 7 shooting and was a deadly 3 of 4 from three-point range, as well as leading the team in steals with three. 

Freshman starting forward Anthony Ogrodnick (Lafayette (CO) Centaurus) contributed 12 points on 5 of 10 shooting, including going 2 of 5 from beyond the arc and Wilson grabbed 11 points on 4 of 7 shooting. Freshman forward Caleb Jones (Fontana Azariel Blanchard Miller) added 10 points off of the bench on 5 of 8 shooting in the win. 

Information, Photos & Story provided by COD Sports Information.