Mustangs blackout Brahmas in overtime thriller
January 5, 2017
Down two with eight seconds left in overtime, senior Malik Corey brings up the ball and takes a deep three. Buzzer rings, students storm the court and Diamond Bar is unable to complete a 17-point comeback against rival Walnut, losing 66-64 in one of the most thrilling games of the year.
At halftime, the Brahmas were down 40-25 and the momentum was in the direction of the Mustangs. But with a tenacious defense, DB was able to pull themselves within single digits of Walnut’s score by the middle of the fourth quarter, allowing only nine points in the third quarter.
It wasn’t only the players who fought back. Diamond Bar’s student section was able to match the intensity and noise of Walnut’s crowd in the Mustangs’ own gym, showing its support with cheers of “defense” and “let’s go Brahmas.”
“It was electric. It was a great time with great basketball that had some great fans. The support on both ends was awesome,” GLC Rich Gonzalez described after the game.
Initially down 55-47 in the last four minutes of the game, the Brahmas were able to tie it up at 57 with help of some crucial blocks from sophomore Mike Gao and three pointers by senior Chris Chebat and sophomore Myles Corey.
In overtime, the teams went back and forth. Junior Kingston Ko scored the first points of OT, giving the Brahmas a 59-57 lead. The Mustangs then fired back with a layup from sophomore Eli Ramos. A clutch three from Corey gave the Brahmas a 64-61 lead with 40 seconds left.
Even though Ramos scored again with a fade-away jumper and cut the lead to one, the Brahmas looked to be in control of the game as they had possession with 20 seconds left. However, Chebat was called for traveling after catching the inbound, setting up a Walnut score that gave them the lead and their fifth straight victory over the Brahmas.
The Corey brothers finished the game with a combined 33 points and five steals while Gao had four blocks with ten points.
