January 23, 2006
Slugs Upset Panthers

Playing in front of a standing room only crowd, the upstart UCSC Slugs finally got the better hand against arguably one of the best DIII basketball programs in the West, the Chapman Panthers, 72-66.

The Panthers have owned the Slugs with a series advantage of 17-6, but the Slugs have been getting closer and more competitve in each contest. Of all the games, this contest was probably the best, not just because the Slugs won, but more so because of two good teams going at it for 40 solid minutes.

This game featured lead changes, great defense, players scoring career highs, intense player emotions, fans going crazy and just plain great basketball from both teams.

Jimmy Herrera and Jon Mercado got the Slugs off to a good start as they matched Chapman's high-powered offense by knocking down jump shots from all over the floor. Lorenzo Hutton, the Slugs' best defender, had the task of keeping the Panthers' leading scorer, Patrick Carney, in check. Hutton limited Carney to just 1 point in the 1st half. Charlie Peck along with Murphy Holmes did a great job on the Panthers best overall player, Zach Wheatley, limiting him to just one 1st half point as well.

Even with the great defense, Chapman still managed to lead by as many as 8 points mid way in the first half, before the Slugs came charging back behind Jon Miller (4 points) and Holmes (7 points) each coming off the bench and playing some tough defense. Herrera (just shooting out of his mind) poured in 18 first half points. The Slugs with this late charge managed to go in at half time leading 37-36.

The second half was much like the first as the two teams came out swinging from the start. Again it was great defense and stellar shooting that would be on display. The Slugs extended their lead to as much as 5 points, but could not shake off the Panthers. The Panthers behind Josh Flynn-Brown, who scored 33 points the first time the two teams met, started getting hot and scored 7 of his game high 15 points with some tough shots over several Slug defenders. Wheatley picked up his scoring and added 8 points in the 2nd half to bring the Panthers back into a tie late in the 2nd half.

However, this night belonged to Jimmy "The Truth" Herrera as he poured in 15 second half points for a career high 33 points (11-14 from the field, 4-6 three pointers and 7-9 freethrows). "Jimmy has been shooting the ball very well this week in practice, but I've never seen him shoot like he did tonight" stated Coach Johnson. Even with Jimmy's heroics, this is what would be classified as a team win. "Everyon was a big part of this win. The energy was the best I've seen this year" stated Coach Johnson.

The Slugs were able to put the game away with some clutch freethrows down the stretch from Charlie Peck, Fernando Barreda and Herrera.

Coach Johnson stated he hopes this wasn't just an aberration and that the Slugs will play like this the rest of the season. "These kids can play, but they have to believe in themselves, the coaches and the system. Tonight they did."

The Slugs won't have long to celebrate the victory as they have to play the Panthers again this coming weekend, at their place this Saturday, and you can bet the Panthers are going to have revenge in their eyes.

A side note from Coach Johnson: As a team, the Slugs went and watched the Movie, Glory Road, before the game. Several of the players said it was the best they've ever seen and that the movie woke them up to what basketball and playing hard was all about. Several of them said they now have a new appreciation of being committed as a player and have a better understanding of what Coach Johnson has been preaching to them from day one.