Irvine Valley's men's basketball team looked like it was going to get run off the floor early in its first-round game against Foothill on Thursday night in the Monterey Bay Classic.
The Owls jumped out to a 12-4 lead right off the bat, but the Lasers never gave in rallying to take a lead in the first half and then pulling away in the final minutes of the contest for a 66-55 win.
IVC, which improved its record to 3-4 overall, held Foothill (4-3) to its second lowest point total of the season.
Irvine Valley took its first lead of the game at 19-18 on a three-pointer by sophomore post player Charlie Henderson off an assist from freshman guard Luke Farrington with 6:52 left. Henderson had a big night for the Lasers.
IVC went up, 28-20, with 2:42 remaining in the first half on a basket by freshman wing Makai Caruth off a pass from freshman point guard Christian Griffin.
But Foothill scored the final six points of the half to pull within 28-26 at the break.
The Lasers started the second half strong. A jumper in the key by Henderson put IVC aheead, 37-28 with 15:50 to go. Foothill rallied again, scoring 12 points in a row. A basket by by Jamal Frenchwood to give the Owls a 40-37 advantage with 11:20 to go.
Irvine Valley finished the game with a flury, out-scoring Foothill, 29-15, the rest of the way.
The game was tied at 49 when freshman guard Roman Swizek made a layup to put IVC up by two points with 6:42 left.
And Farrington basically put the game away when he hit a three-pointer from the top of the key, was fouled and made the free throw. The four-point play pushed Irvine Valley's lead to 62-53 with 2:30 to go.
IVC made enough free throws down the stretch to seal the important win.
Henderson finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks to pace the Lasers. He also finished an impressive 8 of 9 from the field and made both of his free throws.
Farrington added 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists, Swizek had nine points, four rebounds and three assists, Griffin chipped five points and seven assists and freshman forward Ethan McCanless contributed seven points and six rebounds.
Irvine Valley now takes on host Monterey Peninsula in a semifinal contest on Friday at 5 p.m. Cypress plays Diablo Valley at 7 p.m. in the other semifinal.