Second half scoring spree leads to 10-point victory vs. Antelope Valley

VALLEJO, Calif. – With 14 minutes and 10 seconds remaining in Sunday evening's designated non-conference game at PEAC Main Gym, Cal Maritime trailed Antelope Valley by 16 points. From that point on, the Keelhaulers dominated the rest of the game, erased the Pioneers' lead, and held a game-high 12-point advantage with 21 seconds remaining en route to their 85-75 victory.

Cal Maritime will return to action on Sunday, December 12, when it hosts Bethesda at 2 p.m. and enter that matchup with a 3-5 record. Antelope Valley traveled to Vallejo seeking its third overall win in a row and sixth straight against the Keelhaulers, but will return home with an overall record of 7-6 instead.

In addition to holding the visiting Pioneers to only 31 points after halftime, Cal Maritime outscored their opponents by 20 in the second half.

Down 56-40 with 14-plus minutes remaining, the Keelhaulers scored six straight thanks to a pair of free throws from Alex Maze, another free throw hit by Angelo Nicandro and a three from Amil Fields, one of four hit by the sophomore forward from behind the arc throughout the game.

What started with that mini scoring spree continued as the game progressed until Cal Maritime completely erased its deficit at the 8:37 mark of the second half by tying the game at 59. Within a four minute and 33 second timespan, the Keelhaulers outscored the Pioneers 19-3 and continued to roll.

By converting a three-point play when fouled on a layup, and nailing the subsequent free throw, Lucky Hampton gave his team the lead for good with just over seven minutes left to play.

Even though AV pulled within one with 3:33 remaining, Cal Maritime ended the game by scoring nine unanswered points within a 14-5 game-ending run to seal the result.

In addition to recording his four field goals from distance, Fields also connected on 10 of 12 free throws to finish with a game-high 22 points. By canning all seven attempts from the stripe, and 6 of 10 from the floor, Eric Norton added another 19 to the Keelhaulers' total.

In a game that saw the lead change hands on four occasions, and three tied scores, it was the Keelhaulers' bench that scored 43 points — just over half of the team's overall total. By comparison, the Pioneers' reserves scored only 18.

Led by Norton and Divine Nwoko with six apiece, Cal Maritime out-rebounded Antelope Valley, 28-26 overall and 25-13 on the defensive glass.

Even though the Keelhaulers' comeback took place after halftime, it shot the ball at an outstanding clip all game long. Before the break, they connected on 13 of 25 attempts from the floor (52 percent), 14 of 24 in the second half (58.3 pct.) and made 55.1 pct. of their shots.

Cal Maritime took full advantage of their 28 trips to the line by missing only two shots. Compared to the Keelhaulers' 85.7 pct. clip at the stripe, Antelope Valley only connected on 58.1 pct. of their attempts (18 of 31).