Foothill stops Coronado despite Glanz’s 52 points

Evan Roquemore had watched Coronado’s Brandon Glanz lead his team back from a 20-point halftime deficit to cut the lead to two midway through the fourth quarter.

So Roquemore decided it was his turn. The Foothill senior hit a key 3-pointer as the Falcons (17-5, 9-0 Southeast) retook control on the way to a 93-86 home win Monday.

“I feel like when we need a big bucket that I need to go get the ball and get our team the best shot we can,” Roquemore said.

Roquemore followed his 3-pointer to make it 77-72 with a driving layup, then assisted on an F.J. Funtila basket as Foothill took an 81-72 lead with 3:13 to play.

“When they got it down, I knew we just needed to get a big stop and a key bucket,” Roquemore said. “And then after that I knew we’d be able to set up our defense and get another stop.

“After I hit that 3 it felt like we were in control again.”

Roquemore finished with 37 points, six rebounds and seven assists but was overshadowed by Coronado’s Glanz, who almost single-handedly dragged the Cougars (18-6, 8-2) back into the game.

Foothill led 52-32 at the half, but Coronado pounded the ball inside to the 6-foot-5 inch, 235-pound Glanz on almost every possession in the second half.

Glanz almost always turned those touches into a basket or a trip to the foul line. He had 36 points and nine rebounds in the second half and was 18-for-25 from the free-throw line after the break.

Glanz finished with 52 points and 10 rebounds and was 27-for-34 from the line.

“It’s hard to play when you allow a guy to shoot 30 or 40 free throws,” Foothill coach Kevin Soares said. “That’s just ridiculous.”

The game deteriorated into a foul-shooting contest in the second half as the team’s combined to shoot 60 free throws. There were 56 fouls whistled in the game, and seven players fouled out. The teams combined for 82 free-throw attempts in the game.

“You can’t get into rhythm when there’s a stoppage every time down the court,” Soares said. “But they came out and they played harder than we did in the third quarter, and that’s what got them back in the game.”

The Falcons swept the season series with Coronado and lead the Southeast by 1½ games with five league games remaining.

“It’s definitely good to be in control and have the two-game cushion,” Roquemore said. “We’ve just got to take care of business with everybody else and not let up at all.”