COD Men’s Basketball stuns Palomar in thriller, 96-94

COD (4-17; 1-4) collected their first Pacific Coast Athletic Conference victory of the 2017 season, having 4 of their 5 starters in double figures and stunning the San Marcos Palomar Comets (9-13; 1-4), 96-94.

The Roadrunners would respond to an opening 6-0 run by the Comets with an 8-0 run of their own and the back-and-forth would go all night as both teams fought for supremacy on the boards and beyond the arc. This game would be tied ten different times, there were 13 lead changes though out the contest and Desert won the battle of the boards 54 to 49.

Halfway through the first half, freshman forward Alex McGrath (Palm Desert H.S.) would nail a layup, tying the game at 20-20, towards the end of the first half, neither team could miss from three-point range. Freshman forward Gunnar Mogolis (Palm Desert H.S.) hit a three, then Palomar would hit a couple of three-pointers, then freshman starting guard Shaquille Russell (Reseda Cleveland) and sophomore starting guard Kenny Lewis (Riverside Ramona) hit back-to-back three's to get the Roadrunners back to within two points just as the halftime buzzer sounded, with the Comets up 51-49.

A three-pointer by freshman starting guard Philippe Salawa (Fontana Azariel Blanchard Miller) gave Desert their first lead, 66-65 with 15:44 left in the game, since the 7:24 mark in the first half. The final time the game was tied, was with 3:34 left in the game, a Palomar free throw tied the game at 82-82, but another Mogolis three-pointer at 3:16 sealed the victory, the Comets would get no closer.

Sophomore starting forward Dajuan Fulgham (Montevallo, AL) led all scorers snagging his fourth double-double of the season, with 23 points on 9 of 16 shooting and 12 total boards, also leading the team with four blocks and five assists.

Salawa added a huge 21 points on the night, going 7 for 18 from the field and was 6 of 9 from the free throw line and Russell contributed 18 points on 6 of 13 shooting.

Lewis put up 10 points on 3 of 7 shooting from the field and was a deadly 3 of 4 from three-point range, leading the team in assists, with five and steals, with two. Mogolis would leap off of the bench to add 11 points on 4 of 5 shooting, and was a perfect 3 for 3 from beyond the arc in the win.

Information, Photos & Story provided by COD Sports Information.