Two players from Southern California were prominent this week in the wildest game of the college basketball season.
Steve Peres from El Camino College and Noah Gottlieb from Venice High and Santa Monica College played starring roles for College Of Idaho in an overtime 114-108 loss to Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho. The game witnessed by 2,200 fans was also televised on an NBC affiliate.
Both players transferred to College Of Idaho this season.
Peres scored 29 points. Gottlieb had 28 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Gottlieb, who sent the game into overtime on a driving layup with three seconds remaining in regulation, made six of seven three-point shots.
Five players made at least five three-pointers and the game had 23 lead changes.
Gottlieb’s three-point marksmanship was reminiscent of his scoring bursts at SMC where he became the fifth-leading scorer in school history.