SAN BERNARDINO – San Bernardino Valley College’s Lewis Leonard didn’t start the game on Wednesday night, but he finished it in fine fashion, boosting the Wolverines men’s basketball team to a 96-93 upset of Chaffey in Foothill Conference play.
Leonard entered the game as the state’s leading scorer at 25 points per game, but was benched in the first half by coach Gerry Wright for disciplinary reasons. He came back in the second half and scored 18 points, including a key basket in the last seconds, and then blocked a Chaffey shot to preserve the win.
“He’s a great player and he knows how to get it done,” Wright said. “It’s not how you start the first half, it’s how you finish.”
San Bernardino Valley (5-11, 1-1) took its first lead, 90-89, on a pull-up jumper by Johnny Barnes with 2:41 remaining. Chaffey retook the lead and was ahead, 91-90, when Leonard scored inside with 46 seconds left to put the Wolverines up, 92-91.
On Chaffey’s ensuing possession, Leonard swatted away a 15-footer by Brandon Clemons and Barnes grabbed the rebound with 30 seconds to play. The Wolverines then secured the victory at the free-throw line in the final minute.
The Wolverines got a stellar effort from freshman Jason Hurns, who had a career-high 19 points, making his first start of the season in place of Leonard. Hurns was one of five Wolverines in double figures. Barnes had a team-high 23 points with 15 rebounds, Jacob Letson had 14 points and Netsanet Hailu had 10.
Chaffey (11-7, 1-1) was led by freshman guard Jordan Block with 17 points. Troy Allen had 13, Jamal Sloan 12 and Winston Robinson 11.
“We needed this to stay in the hunt,” said Wright, whose team lost its Foothill Conference opener last Saturday against Antelope Valley. “There are a lot of good teams in this conference, so every game is going to be important.”
Nine of SBVC’s 11 losses have been by single digits.
Chaffey came in as the top scoring team in the state at 96 points per game. They were coming off what is believed to be a school-record 133 points Saturday against Barstow.
San Bernardino Valley College will play Saturday at Mt. San Jacinto at 3 p.m. Chaffey hits the road to play College of the Desert on Saturday.
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