By DEAN DELLAMALVA JR.
MVI Sports
California trailed for all but 17 seconds of the first half Wednesday night against rival Beth-Center.
But in the second half, the Trojans never fell behind.
In the third quarter, California (7-7) got 10 points from Malik Ramsey and seven from Nate O’Savage to put away the Bulldogs in a 63-47 non-section battle.
Ramsey finished with a game-high 28 points, O’Savage had 12 and Kwondre Porter chipped in 10 for the winners.
Porter started for Cochise Ryan, who was out for personal reasons.
Porter came up huge for the Trojans with a key 3-pointer in the third. In the fourth, he followed a big block on defense and drilled another three on the ensuing possession.
“Kwondre is a fantastic athlete, he’s a smart kid,” California coach Aaron Balla said. “Once you get him motivated with the right kids on the court, he can really shine. He’s definitely a reserve that hasn’t come on full force yet. It’s fantastic because when he does it’s going to be really nice.”
Beth-Center let opportunities to get a sizeable lead slip away early and couldn’t maintain their composure when things got tough.
The Bulldogs (5-7) went only 2 of 9 from the free throw line in the first half and turned the ball over a lot.
“We had 18 turnovers and they didn’t press us once,” Beth-Center head coach Bill Greco said dejectedly. “The difference was free-throw shooting. We missed a boat load of them. We gave a lot of attention to Ramsey, obviously, and once he broke down the guy who was guarding him, his teammates were able to make shots.”
