Green records double-double in PC win
They needed a bit of a comeback to do it, but in the end, Porterville College men’s basketball team provided a lively home crowd with a thrilling 8785 win over De Anza in the Pirates season home-opener Tuesday evening.
“That right there was a tough win, I thought that was all grit,” PC head coach Rob Haynes said. “Especially when you’re playing against a team as hot as De Anza. They’re leading the state in scoring. And they was making 16 (3-pointers) a game, and they were shooting about 32. Tonight they only got off 22 and only made nine. So we did a good job of matching up.”
There were seven lead changes and six ties in the first half alone with De Anza (2-1) going on a 15-5 run and taking an 11-point lead to go into the break with the Dons up 41-39. The second half was just as close but instead it was Porterville (1-1) who finished on top with a lot of help from sophomore forward Da’morea Green. In his first home game since a compound foot fracture back in 2017, Green finished with a double-double — 16 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
Essential to the team in the second half where he picked up most of his points, Green scored off an assist from sophomore guard Elijah Cardenas to give Porterville a 75-74 lead with barely four minutes to play. He then turned around and blocked a De Anza player’s shot that led to a fast-break layup from freshman point guard Dominic King. Green also knocked down two clutch free throws and grabbed the final rebound of the game after the Dons attempted to score by throwing a final free throw off the backboard with less than a second left in the game.
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