Matt Green scored 33 points, 10 in the fourth quarter, to overturn a Yucaipa lead in the closing seconds, and give the Redlands Terriers a, 68-63, victory over the Thunderbirds, Wednesday, at Redlands High School.
File Photo By BOB OTTO
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YUCAIPA, CA – The scene was set. The Yucaipa fans were on their feet screaming, ready to storm the court. The players were poised and on the cusp of winning their fifth Citrus Belt League boy’s basketball game and move into a tie for second place.

But Matt Green had other ideas. And the senior guard, who scored a game-high 33 points, led the Redlands Terriers back from the brink of defeat to a nerve-wracking, 68-63, victory over the Yucaipa Thunderbirds, Wednesday, at Redlands High School.

The win keeps Redlands in second place in the CBL at 6-2, 16-4 overall, while Yucaipa evens its record at 4-4, 10-10 overall. But still remains in good contention for the number three spot in the league.

With 41-seconds left in the game and Yucaipa leading, 63-62, Green was fouled, sending him to the free throw line where he made both shots, giving the Terriers a lead they wouldn’t surrender.

Knowing that Yucaipa was forced to foul, Redlands got the ball into the hands of Green. And he didn’t disappoint his teammates, as he made good on four attempts in the closing seconds to finally subdue a Thunderbirds team that came ever so close to victory.

Redlands led at the outset and held a 22-19 lead at the close of the first quarter. But Yucaipa started finding its range in the second quarter. Junior guard Drake Malveaux scored 12 of his 15 points in the quarter to give Yucaipa its first lead at 35-34 with 1:32 left in the first half.

Yucaipa went into halftime leading 41-39. Taijuan Walker (20 points, 22 rebounds) came out on fire to start the third quarter by scoring Yucaipa’s first six points and pushing their lead to six. But Green matched Walker’s six with six of his own to narrow Yucaipa’s lead to 53-52 at the end of the quarter. Green’s three-pointer with 12 seconds left brought the Redlands fans roaring to their feet.

Then in the fourth quarter, a Marcus Davis slam dunk and Green’s deep three-pointer from the left corner put the Terriers back on top, 57-53 with six minutes left to play.

But back charged the Thunderbirds. Walker threw down a slam dunk, and Colton Wiley scored on a turnaround underneath to reclaim a 61-58 lead with 3:08 left on the game clock.

After the Terriers, Hinsta Kifle, buried a trey to knot it back up at 61-61, the Thunderbirds, Cole Hauso, calmly sank two free throws to put Yucaipa back on top by two. But Ashton Robinson’s free throw cut the lead to just one at 63-62 with just over two minutes left.

Yucaipa clung to the lead until those final 41 seconds. And that’s when Green took over and doused Yucaipa’s chance at victory. The 5-feet-10 guard finished the game by making 7 of 8 free throws and scoring 10 of the Terriers final 16 points.

But this isn’t the first time Green has given the Thunderbirds trouble. The Terriers and Thunderbirds met on Jan. 6th in their first CBL encounter to kick off league play. And Green after a slow first half in which Yucaipa held the league’s leading scorer (23.7 points per game) to 5 points, erupted for 16 in the second half to turn a Yucaipa, 30-27, half-time lead into a 66-52 loss.

YUCAIPA SCORING: Drake Malveaux 15, Cole Hauso 8, Tyler McGrand 6, Colton Willey 8, Taijuan Walker 20, Daylin Billingsley 6.

REDLANDS SCORING: Hinsta Kifle 11, Matt Green 33, Marcus Davis 5, Ashton Robinson 13, Jacob Peykani 6.

Yucaipa returns to CBL action taking on Fontana (0-8, 0-21) Friday at home with game time scheduled for 6 p.m.