Erik Boal
NORTHEAST GLENDALE -- Glendale Community College men's basketball
Coach Brian Beauchemin turned in a celebration that will be remembered
for some time come following Saturday night's emotional victory in the
Vaquero gym.
Complete with numerous jumps in the air, fist-pumping, hand-clapping
and a smile as wide the court itself, Beauchemin relished in advancing to
the next round.
He also relished in atoning for a playoff defeat two years ago against
Cerritos College, which denied GCC an opportunity to advance past the
Southern California Regional quarterfinals.
But despite his efforts to downplay the achievement of yet another
coaching milestone, Beauchemin's jubilation also had a great deal to do
with his 21st win of the season and 400th at GCC.
And like his previous 399 victories, Beauchemin worked every last inch
of the sidelines, did his fair share of working the officials and worked
his magic to motivate the Vaqueros to rally from a seven-point halftime
deficit.
"We talked about it at halftime how nobody wanted to lose," GCC
forward Marc Walters said. "We have sophomores like Mike [Schynder] and
Tim [Taylor], and it could have been their last game. We just had to play
hard and suck it up."
The Vaqueros did both, making it extremely difficult for Cerritos to
execute in the crucial moments late in the contest.
GCC didn't shoot exceptionally well from the floor, but it got timely
offensive contributions from a lot of players, and pressure defense from
all of them.
"In the second half we met [Cerritos] a little better," said
Beauchemin, who improved his record to 400-285. "Everybody helped off the
ball and did a great job of containing.
"In the first half, we were giving great help, but we weren't
recovering back out on the shooters. Even if they missed, they
bull-rushed us on the boards."
But one thing Beauchemin and his players always demonstrate is
resiliency, and that was on display in the final 20 minutes of Saturday
night's contest.
It was also the same resiliency that allowed GCC to overcome some
early and mid-season injuries and deal with a few shakeups in personnel
to post the 12th 20-win season in Beauchemin's tenure.
"This has been a tough, wearing year and I think we've done a
remarkable job in not letting the circumstances derail us," Beauchemin
said. "It's a credit to our staff and the kids themselves."
A cause for celebration if there ever was one.
