Mañon, Coachella Valley pull away from San Diego

EL SEGUNDO (Interstat) — Chris Mañon scored 32 points and grabbed 13 rebounds Monday, and Coachella Valley beat San Diego 124-110 in a G League game at UCLA Health Training Center. Mañon added one assist and two blocks in 36 minutes for the Lakers, who improved to 2-0. San Diego fell to 1-1 before an announced attendance of 2,758. Coachella Valley’s previous win was at home against Salt Lake City, and San Diego’s previous win was at home against Valley.

Coachella Valley opened with a 34-point first quarter, getting 3-pointers from Cole Swider and Mañon and inside baskets from Arthur Kaluma and William Kyle. San Diego stayed close early behind Blake Wesley’s 3-point shooting and Jahmyl Telfort’s drives, but the Lakers stretched the lead with a 29-point second quarter. Jahmir Young repeatedly got into the lane, and Swider added a step-back 3-pointer as Coachella Valley took a 63-48 halftime lead. San Diego cut into the lead with a 32-point third quarter, its highest-scoring period, and trailed 86-80 entering the fourth. Coachella Valley then outscored San Diego 38-30 in the final quarter to secure the win. Coachella Valley scored 34 in the first quarter and 38 in the fourth.

Mañon, a 6-foot-5 player from Milford, N.J., finished with 32 points, 13 rebounds, one assist and two blocks in 36 minutes. Young had 21 points, four rebounds and seven assists in 36 minutes. Swider added 21 points, five rebounds and four assists in 36 minutes. Anton Watson scored 15 points with seven rebounds in 28 minutes. Wesley led San Diego with 19 points, three rebounds, three assists and one block in 29 minutes. Telfort scored 20 points with three assists and one block in 33 minutes. Kaluma had 16 points, five rebounds, one assist and one block in 29 minutes. Nick Martinelli scored 22 points with four rebounds and two assists in 34 minutes. Nathan Mensah had six points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 23 minutes. Hunter Sallis scored 16 points with one rebound and one block in 22 minutes.

The decisive stretch came in the fourth quarter. San Diego rallied early in the period as Martinelli and Mensah converted inside, but Coachella Valley answered with Mañon’s 14-foot jumper and 3-foot pullup, Watson’s dunk and Young’s repeated drives. Young converted a three-point play with 20 seconds remaining, and Mañon made a free throw in the final two minutes as the Lakers held off the Clippers. San Diego’s third-quarter rally included a 25-foot 3-pointer from Wesley, a 27-foot 3-pointer from Telfort and another 25-footer from Wesley. Mañon had 17 points and five rebounds in Coachella Valley’s previous win over Salt Lake City. The teams are scheduled to meet again later this season.

Coachella Valley shot 43 of 86 from the floor, 9 of 29 from 3-point range and 16 of 19 from the free-throw line. San Diego shot 46 of 91, 8 of 30 and 6 of 12. The Lakers had a 49-30 rebounding advantage, including 17-9 on the offensive glass, and finished with nine assists to San Diego’s eight. Coachella Valley had four blocks to San Diego’s six and committed 15 turnovers to San Diego’s 10. Both teams were called for 23 fouls. Coachella Valley scored 124 points from 93 possessions for an offensive rating of 133.3, while San Diego scored 110 points from 98 possessions for an offensive rating of 112.6.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Coachella Valley 121, San Diego 117, and Interstat’s ELO system gave Coachella Valley an 88.1 percent probability to win.