South's representatives at CCCAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament chase state title
RIVERSIDE - The top four seeds in the south have combined for a 109-10 record. Here is a look at the four teams competing at West Hills College Lemoore to lift the state championship trophy.
Tomorrow we’ll take a look at the north’s teams.
Thanks to Phil Thurman (Fullerton), Sammi Wellman (Citrus), Robert Lewis (South Coast SID) and Bill NOrris (san Bernardino Valley) for assistance and information for this capsuals.
South #1 Seed Fullerton College (29-1) has been on a historical run. The Hornets enter the state tournament riding a 22-game win streak. Fullerton’s lone setback was on November 23 when San Bernardino Valley, the south’s #4 seed in the state tournament, managed an 83-69 victory the Hornet.
Since then, it has been smooth flying for the Hornets. Fullerton went undefeated in Orange Empire Conference (16-0) play to win the conference title by six games, easily the largest margin of victory in the state this season. The conference title was the college’s 31st title since it was founded in 1927.
For the majority of the season, Fullerton has been the California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches Association’s top-ranked team. The ranking was a reflection of Fullerton’s talent which is considered perhaps the best in the state. The Hornets have the fifth best offense in the state with an 87.8 scoring average. But it is the Hornets’ defense that may be the stinger. Fullerton has held opponents to an average of 69 points a game (sixth in state Net Efficiency 0.251).
Fullerton swept the Orange Empire Conference awards with Sean Newman Jr winning player of the year; Shaquil Bender being named offensive player of the year; and Jeremiah Davis being recognized as defensive player of the year.
Fullerton brings a balanced scoring attack. The Hornets don’t have a player averaging over 14 points a game. In fact, the Hornets have four players averaging double figures and then the next five players average 5 points or more, and four increased their scoring average in conference play.
Kobe Newton, a first-team all-conference selection, leads the Hornets with a 13.9 scoring average. Bender averages 13.4. Newman Jr., who has scored in double figures in six of his last seven games, including a season-high 24 points in the Hornets’ second round regional win over West Los Angeles, adds 13.2 points per game. Jeremiah Davis, who brings an eight-game streak of scoring in doubles figures, is averaging 12.2 per game.
Defensively, the Hornets are holding its opposition to 69 points per game. The Hornets have allowed 80 or more points just 15 times this season.
The Hornets are now on the hunt for a fifth state championship (1954, 1961, 2006, 2019). One more win puts the team at the 30-win-mark, putting the team among the best in school history - 1953-54 (31-2), 1960-61 (32-2), 1968-69 (31-4), 1971-72 (33-3), 2005-06 (37-0), and 2018-19 (30-3).
Fullerton takes on the North's 4th seed West Valley College Thursday, March 9, at 3 pm.
How the Hornets got here:
Champions of the Orange Empire Conference
Beat West Los Angeles in the Second Round, 106-71
Beat San Diego City in the Regional Final, 77-74
-----
South #2 Seed Citrus College (27-3) makes its second consecutive appearance at the CCCAA State Tournament after winning its fifth conference title in the last six seasons. This time last season, Citrus College were riding high after knocking off top-seeded Fullerton College to make the trip to West Hills College in Lemoore.
This year, the Owls (27-3) aren’t sneaking up on anyone. Citrus has suffered only three losses, two to post-season opponents in Cerritos and Riverside. After losing those consecutive games, Citrus went on a 17-game win streak. The second longest win streak since records were kept at Citrus.
Champions of the Western State-South, Citrus advanced to the state championship tournament with wins over Cypress (81-74) and Ventura, the Western State-North champion, in a 96-93 OT thriller. Chris Chiles, the Western State Conference-South Player of the Year,
Citrus will take on College of the Sequoias in a Thursday quarterfinal game. Tipoff is 7 p.m.
As a team, Citrus ranks 11th in the state in scoring at 84.7 points. Four of the top scoring offense will be featured in the state finals (San Francisco #1); East Los Angeles #3; San Bernardino Valley #4; and Fullerton #5). Citrus will be bringing the tournament’s sixth best defense among the finalists. The Owls are allowing 70 points a game and have held opponents to a 26.8 shooting percentage from beyond the arc.
Offensively, the Owls are led by Western State Conference-South Player of the Year, Chris Chiles. Chiles, who is on a streak of 15 straight games of scoring in double figures, averages 11.9 points, 4 rebounds and 3.7 assists. Teammate Antony Tello, who has shot above 50 percent from the floor in seven of his last nine games, leads the Owls with a 13.4 scoring average and Jayden Johnston, who scored in double figures in nine of his 11 games, is also averaging double figures at 11.9. The Owls’ top five scores are sophomores.
Aibigho Ujadughele, who is averaging grabbing 7.9 rebounds per game, has recorded nine games of 10 rebounds or more, including a season-high 17 against LA Harbor which lost in its regional final to East Los Angeles. Citrus has committed 14.9 turnovers per game, while forcing their opponents into 21.2 per game this season.
How to the Owls got here:
Champions of the Western State-South Conference
Beat Cypress in Round 2, 81-74
Beat Ventura in the Regional Final, 96-93 in OT
-----
South #3 East Los Angeles (26-3), Netflix's favorite sons, is hoping to give the streaming channel a fitting ending as the Huskies finally get that trip to Lemoore for the CCCAA State Championship tournament.
It was three years ago when East Los Angeles was on its bus headed to Lemoore when the tournament was cancelled due to COVID. Turned out, 2020 was just the beginning as the program has had a tough late postseason experience the last few years. In 2020, East Los Angeles held a 29-1 record. Last season, the Huskies were eliminated in the regional finals by West Los Angeles, which advanced to the state tournament semifinals.
In the last nine years, East Los Angeles has made two state tournaments. And neither ended well, losing in 2015 to Saddleback, 50-47, in the title game and then in the quarterfinals in 2017.
The Huskies, a seven-time South Coast Conference-North champion, hopes 2023 will the year of the dog.
East Los Angeles has the state’s #3 scoring offense at 88.3 points per game. Their bite begins with JT Langston, the conference’s 2023 player of the year, and Corey Cofield, the 2022 player of the year. Both are dangerous scores. Cofield, who has scored in double digits in 16 games, is averaging 11.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Langston, who had 24 points in the Huskies regional final victory over Los Angeles Harbor, is averaging 15.2 a game. He comes into the tournament having scored 10 or more points in 13 of his last 14 contests
The Huskies have benefited from strong bench play. In the Huskies regional win over Riverside, Est Los Angeles had three reserves score in double figures, led Jon Sanders, who was perfect from the field (8-for-8) with four 3-pointer, with 26 points. Demetrius Calip chipped in 13 points.
East Los Angeles, which takes on San Jose, the north’s #2 seed at 1 pm on Thursday, runs into the Final Eight on an 11-game win streak.
How to the Huskies got here:
Champions of the South Coast
Beat Riverside in Round 2, 94-77
Beat Los Angeles Harbor in the Regional Final, 99-91
-----
South #4 San Bernardino Valley (27-3) will make a second-consecutive trip to the CCCAA State Championship. Hopefully, this one last longer. Might be a lot to ask since San Bernardino Valley will take on San Francisco, the north’s #1 seed and the defending state champions, on Thursday at 5 pm.
Last year, San Bernardino Valley fell to College of the Sequoias, 69-62.
Hopefully the resilience San Bernardino Valley has found this season carries over to Lemoore. After all, Pasadena could have easily been in Lemoore. The Lancers held a one-point lead with a minute remaining but managed to find a way to win.
While Fullerton might have the best talent in the south. San Bernardino Valley might have the best player. Sophomore guard Dominique Daniels has been one the state’s best players over the last two years. He was the 2021-22 Southern California Player of the Year and is now a two-time Inland Empire Athletic Conference Player of the Year.
This season, he led the state in scoring, dropping in 26.2 points per game, and is third in the state with 6.5 assists per game. Unfortunately, Daniels never saw the floor in Lemoore. He suffered an injury in the Wolverines’ second-round playoff game.
Fortunately, Daniels has stayed healthy. As have Wolverines, who dress just nine players. Despite the lack of bench depth, San Bernardino Valley has managed to post the state’s fourth-best scoring offense, trailing only San Francisco, Palomar and East Los Angeles. Although the Inland Empire Athletic Conference hasn’t pushed the Wolverines, they are battled tested. San Bernardino Valley has not lost a game to a team from California since November, with its only loss since their third game coming against nationally ranked Salt Lake in the Fiesta Bowl Classic in late December.
San Bernardino Valley will carry a 16-game winning streak into its game against City College of San Francisco.
Daniels has scored in double figures in every game this season. He has been held under 20 points in just three games, one being the regional final game against Pasadena (13 points on 4 of 19 shooting). Daniels will leave a huge mark on the college’s record book, but he’ll need to lead a big game by the Wolverines to beat San Francisco City. Fellow co-captain, Armon Muldrew has been a threat on the court, averaging 18.7 points per game. In his last 11 games, Muldrew has scored 10 or more points in 10 of 11 games, including 30 against Mt. San Jacinto, conference runner up.
Transfer sophomore Sebastian Mendoza comes in averaging 13.7 points per game, with Aamari Smith adding 11.6 points per game.
But it’s not all offense for the Wolverines. Their defense has held opponents to 61.3 points per game, while forcing 18.1 turnovers per game. The Wolverines also out rebound their opponents 35.6 to 28.8 per game. Underneath, Chine Nwanevu leads the team with 7.3 boards per game,
How the Wolverines got here:
Champions of the Inland Empire Athletic Conference
Beat Saddleback in Round 2, 77-45
Beat Pasadena in Regional Final, 63-58