Dynamic duo leads Fresno to win over Columbia

COLUMBIA POINT GUARD Mke McElroy (3) dribbles around Fresno City’s Russell Gregory. Amy Alonzo Rozak/Union Democrat

The Rams were leading Columbia College 25-9 with 11 minutes and 49 seconds left in the first half.

“My coach (Ed Madec) usually doesn’t like me to shoot it from that far out,” said Hill. “But he knows if I get things going, it gets contagious.”

The 6-foot-1 Hill let it fly and the ball swished through the hoop.
   

And, yes, things got contagious. Ridiculously contagious.

Exactly 40 seconds later, Fresno’s 6-foot sophomore point guard, Sultan Toles-Bey, drilled a 22-footer.

Then, after a whole 11 seconds went by, Toles-Bey made a steal, immediately launched a 26-footer, and the ball caught nothing but net.

“At that point,” said Toles-Bey, “we were feeling it and our coach was telling us to keep shooting.”

Less than one minute later, Toles-Bey fired up a 23-footer.

Swish.

With 9:14 left in the half, Hill stood 28-feet away from the basket. Close enough.

Swish!

Within a span of two minutes and 35 seconds, the Rams lead had stretched from 16 points to 30.

“Oh, man, those guards were strong,” said Columbia center Travis Vanderwaal. “Everything they threw up looked like it was going in.”

With 3:51 left in the half, Hill fired up a 29-footer which went in and the score was 56-18.

By halftime, the score was 64-24 and the Rams, currently ranked No.1 in the state, had the game sealed.

“We came out focused,” said Hill, “and we got this game over quickly.”

Hill and Toles-Bey sat most of the second half and Madec called off what had been a relentlessly aggressive and effective first-half full-court press, and the Rams left town with a 99-53 win.

This was the opening Central Valley Conference contest for both teams. The Rams upped their overall record to 21-0, while Columbia dropped to 3-13. 

“They didn’t miss a shot tonight,” said Columbia sophomore center Brandon Brockmire. “They were hitting from 30-feet out with a hand in their face. And when they did miss, we didn’t box out very well and they were getting put backs.” 

“Our kids hadn’t faced that kind of (full-court) pressure all season long,” said Columbia head coach Nate Rien. “Fresno comes out with a lot of emotion, intensity and passion and it carries through for 40 minutes. I feel our kids were intimidated early and that obviously hurt us.

“But we made some adjustments and played better in the second half — granted they took the intimidating factor away by relieving some of that (full-court) pressure. But I felt our kids battled hard the entire game.”

Brockmire and Vanderwaal each scored 11 points to lead the Claim Jumpers. Brockmire had a team-high 10 rebounds.

Freshmen guards Jose Blanco and Jared Lunsford scored 10 and 8 points respectively for Columbia, while frosh guard Mike McElroy added seven points and a game-high 10 assists.

Toles-Bey had a game-high 19 points, including five treys and Hill had 18 points with four 3-pointers.

Hill and Toles-Bey were backcourt mates — and first-team all-city stars — at King Drew High School in Compton.

“We’re best friends,” said Hill. “He gave me a run for my money tonight. There’s a little good-natured competition amongst us.”

“Aaron Hill is a great shooter, but he’s not quite at my level,” said Toles-Bey with a laugh. “I’ve got some range in me — I can shoot it pretty deep, but he can shoot that ball well, too.”

Said Madec, “They’re both good shooters. And tonight we made some shots and Columbia was just a little bit off. This is a tough place to play and we’re glad to get out of here with a win. The score is not a reflection of what a good coach Nate is.

“Columbia never stopped playing hard the entire game and he deserves a lot of credit for that.”