BEAUMONT, CA -- Beaumont had things stacked against it in the title game of its own Tip-Off Classic when it faced Redlands East Valley.
The visitors had a larger, louder cheering section. REV was the defending tourney champs. But Beaumont won anyway, 61-58.
First, the Cougars had to shake off a potential game-winning, 3-pointer by Brett Vansant, who took a lob pass from Kim Aiken (32 points, 11 rebounds, four blocked shots) with 55 seconds left.
Aiken was the tournament MVP, except that Derreck Affor hit a twisting, driving layup between a trio of REV defenders with 30 seconds left, adding two free throws to seal it.
That final effort stole the MVP honors from Aiken for Affor’s teammate, Darnell Eaves.
Said REV coach Bill Berich: “Both of us play a 2-3 zone. We’re long and we can shoot. I thought they played a great game (in the tournament semifinals against King, 71-52).”
Florence said, “We don’t play a 2-3. We play a 3-2. The idea is to take away 3-pointers and try to trap them in the corners.”
Berich’s 2-3 is to try and stop teams from attacking the middle.
And both teams play hard.
Neither team budged when it came to surrendering points – REV in 90-66, 78-38 and 63-37 wins over Indio, Oak Hills-Hesperia and Palm Desert and Beaumont in 64-45, 52-40 and 71-52 wins over Banning, Yucaipa and King-Riverside.
Beaumont’s coach, Florence, has long had issues with REV. “I’ve only beaten them once as a player and a coach,” he said before the game.
That dates back to 1997 when he played at nearby Yucaipa High School, plus the last 11 seasons as Beaumont coach.
Berich, meanwhile, has been REV’s only hoops coach, beginning in 1997-98. Berich once coached at Yucaipa. When he opened the Wildcats’ program, a few players transferred from the T-Birds to Berich’s Wildcats.
Transfers can shake up a program. “I was mad at the time,” said Florence. “Now, I’m not.”
Those moves opened up playing time for Florence, who turned his prep play into a scholarship at nearby Cal State San Bernardino. “I got my education paid for and that was always my goal,” he said.
As for beating REV, Beaumont stopped the Wildcats, 77-71, at the San Bernardino Kiwanis Tournament back in 2013.
On Dec. 1, 2012, REV knocked off Beaumont by seven in the finals of Beaumont’s Tip-Off Classic.
Florence has plenty of motivating notes for his team. In his tournament semifinals win over King, he gave them a little nugget during a lull in their intensity.
“This is where,” he said, “Kawhi Leonard played in high school.”
Leonard, the 2014 NBA Finals MVP for San Antonio, was a legendary player from nearby Riverside.
Throw this last little nugget in: Beaumont starter Chris Gray, whose father Dennis Gray was an All-CIF starter on San Gorgonio Pass Area Banning’s 1988 Southern Section 2A championship, is a transfer from REV.
All of which set the stages for these defensive dynamos to clash in the championship.
REV led early, 13-6, but the Cougars’ defense kicked in, stalling any Wildcats’ attack from anyone other than Aiken.
It’s not just a 3-2 zone played by Beaumont. It’s an intense 3-2 zone.
And everyone buys in; everyone comes in off Florence’s bench.
REV’s points were trickling through the net.
Meanwhile, Beaumont’s shooting woes from last season were being cured.
“It’s not a question of teaching them to shoot better,” said Florence. “It’s teaching them to take better shots, to make that extra pass, to try and be unselfish.”
Derreck Affor, a returning senior, hit for 26 points. Big men Collins Talley and C.J. Clemons combined for 19 points, 17 rebounds and a variety of strong inside play, especially against Aiken.
Eaves’ eight-point effort, along with seven assists and stalwart defense against REV all-tournament point guard Bryce Lawson was key to the Cougars’ attack. Beaumont’s defense was relentless, letting down very little throughout 32 intensified minutes.
REV didn’t lay down. Trailing 50-41 entering the final quarter, Lawson’s six-footer made it 52-46. Aiken hit a 15-footer, a 20-foot trey, followed in a missed shot and took a Lawson feed to give the Wildcats a 55-54 lead.
Clemons got loose for a layup, drawing Aarron Andreas’ fifth foul and a Beaumont 57-55 lead with 1:10 left. That’s when Aiken found Vansant – whose sister, Krista, is a likely candidate for next year’s USA Olympic volleyball team – who buried a 24-footer with 55 seconds left.
REV led by one.
Affor’s driving layup made it 59-58. When REV missed at its end, Talley got fouled and missed his free throw. Clemons snuck in for the rebound, working it to Affor, who was fouled with nine seconds left. Both free throws went down (61-58).
Lawson and Ryan Aranda each got off decent three-point shots in a frantic effort for REV to tie, but both attempts missed.
All-tournament honors also went to Gray (3 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals), whose hustle didn’t really stand out since all other Cougars were modeling the same intensity.
Said Florence: “We’re deeper than we’ve been. We can play a lot of guys.”
The Cougars will add a 6-foot-7 transfer, junior Jalen January, next month. Sitting out the first half of the season by Southern Section transfer rule, he came over from nearby Banning.
“He’ll change the game for us,” said Florence.
And both coaches have bought into the model set by NBA championship coach Steve Kerr, who led Golden State to the 2015 championship. Kerr went deep onto his bench – not only for points and rebounds, but also to wear down opposing starters.
“I really admired what coach Kerr did last year,” said Florence.
“We’re playing everybody,” said Berich.
Beaumont’s depth worked better than REV’s.
Watch out for a Beaumont playoff run in March 2016. The Cougars, led by coach Alex Boyd and CIF Player of the Year Scott Haskin, won a Southern Section 1A championship in 1988.
That same year, Beaumont’s San Gorgonio Pass rivals, Banning, were Southern Section 2A championships under coach Stan Smith.
It will be ironic since Gray has those Banning roots and January, among others, is a Banning-to-Beaumont transfer.
“This is going to be something to watch,” said Florence.
