MSJC Basketball Set To Host Kiwanis Hoops And Crops Tourney
The MSJC men's basketball team has teamed with the Kiwanis Club of Hemet Valley to host an eight team tournament running from Thursday December 4th through Saturday December 6th on the MSJC Campus.
The focus of this weekend's tournament is two fold as some of the best basketball programs in the state will gather to play high level basketball while learning something about the California farmer and locally grown food. Each team will participate in a tour of either Hollandia Dairy, Agri Empire, or Washburn Ranch to get a firsthand look at how local farmers help feed the country. The Kiwanis Club of the Hemet Valley has been instrumental in organizing the tournament and the activities going on in the community. "An event like this would not be possible without the support of the Kiwanis", said MSJC Dean of Physical Education and Athletics Patrick Springer. "We are very pleased that the student athletes coming to play in this great tournament will also have an opportunity to learn about the California Farmer and all they do to help us locally and throughout the world."
The tournament itself will feature some of the state's top programs. MSJC will enter the tournament with a 5-3 record and are coming off a season last year where they had a 25-5 record and reached the State Final Eight. Chaffey enters the tournament with a 7-2 record and are coming off of back to back State Final Four appearances. Yuba is one of the top teams in Northern California and has reached the state play-offs six straight times. Santa Ana was co-champion last year of the Orange Empire Conference. Riverside, Palomar, San Diego Mesa, and College of the Canyons all teams with strong traditions round out the field of the Kiwanis Hoops and Crops Tournament.
Games begin on Thursday at 1 pm when Yuba takes on Palomar. That contest will be followed by Santa Ana vs Chaffey at 3 pm and Mesa vs Riverside at 5 pm. The host Eagles will take the floor at 7 pm when they play College of the Canyons. Games will run at the same time on Friday and the tournament wraps up with three games on Saturday starting at 3 pm and concluding with the Championship game at 7 pm.