LONG BEACH, CA - Cypress Chargers (18-11, 10-6 OEC) take on Long Beach City College (16-13, 4-6 SCC) on Wednesday Night for the first round of the CCCAA tournament.
The first half went quickly with a hard fought effort from both sides. Cypress men's basketball leaned on their momentum won from their close game with Irvine Valley to start strong. Grant Sii led the game for the Chargers with a quick steal in the paint. Cypress continued to push their defensive effort with a charge taken by Lake Ballard to force a turnover for LBCC. Allen Wright got to the free throw line multiple times with masterful offensive moves, which made him the leading scorer for both teams in the first half. Mark Onyejekwe finished the half with a layup to put the Chargers within a 10-point deficit, 40-30 LBCC.
The Chargers came out firing in the second half, and quickly cut the Viking's lead down. With a technical foul that resulted in four free throws from LBCC, Grant Sii and Blake Ballard made the score 40-37. Long Beach answered quickly, but Cristian Butler gained momentum back for the Chargers with a 4-point play. Grant Sii shot back-to-back long three-pointers to give Cypress their first lead of the game within the last 10 minutes of play. Lake Ballard quickly followed with another 3-pointer. Then, another big three from Allen Wright kept the Chargers on top with two minutes left in the game, 67-61. With one minute left, Cypress was up 71-64. The last minute of the game was back-and-forth, but the Chargers kept their lead and will move on to the second round of playoffs to face the Citrus Owls.
Allen Wright was the top scorer for the Chargers with 21 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Grant Sii was close behind with 20 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. Cristian Butler also contributed 14 points, 2 rebounds 3 assists, and 4 steals.
UP NEXT: The Chargers will visit Citrus College on Saturday, February 25th for the second round of playoffs. Tip-off at 7PM.
Stay connected with the Chargers through social media. Follow Cypress College Athletics on Twitter @CypressChargers. Check in with the Chargers on Facebook/CypressChargers and on Instagram @CypressChargers.
