South Coast Conference trio advance to CCCAA Men's Basketball Regional Finals
CCCAA Men's Basketball Regional Brackets
NorCal l SoCal
PASADENA - South Coast Conference men's basketball representatives East Los Angeles College (the #3 seed), #6 Los Angeles Harbor, and surprising #12 Pasadena City have all advanced as part of eight teams that have made it to the Southern California Regional Finals this Saturday, Mar. 4.
The Lancers have opened up eyes throughout the region with a remarkable turnaround from a 1-26 season a year ago to becoming a 22-8 team under their first-year head coach Ryan Frazer. In 2021-22, it was Frazer who directed an amazing #21 seed MiraCosta to win three regional games v. higher seeds to reach the state championship tournament.
This year, PCC got past No. 21 seed Cerro Coso in Round 1 (71-68), then upset #5 San Diego Miramar, 72-60 as it now is one step away from punching a ticket to the CCCAA State Championships if it can beat #4 San Bernardino Valley (26-3). Transfers Jayden Winfrey, Nigel Wilson and Jonathan Tchengang lead the Lancers. Wilson scored 20 points in the Miramar victory.
PCC reached its first regional final in 30 years and is trying to make the state tourney for the first time in 40 years when it lost to Cerritos in the 1983 title game in triple overtime.
At least one of the conference's squads will advance to the Mar. 9, 11-12 tourney at West Hills College Lemoore thanks to a bracket final that pits the South Coast champions against each other. South Division champ Harbor will play at North first-place ELAC in a rematch of a Jan. 11 crossover won by the Seahawks, 76-64.
Since that loss, the Huskies (25-3) have won 10 straight, including a Round 2 victory over #14 Riverside CC, 94-77. Jon Sanders was a perfect 8-for-8 from the floor, including four 3-pointers in scoring 26 points. Three reserves reached double digits in points paced by Demetrius Calip with 13.
The depth of the team can be exemplified in that the last two SCC North MVPs--'22 Corey Cofield and '23 JT Langston--were limited to just 11 points combined in the RCC triumph. The architect of ELAC and its run now of seven straight SCC titles is head coach John Mosley.
Like ELAC, Harbor (25-4) had a Round 1 bye, then upended #11 Mt. San Jacinto, 86-77, in Round 2 behind a great performance by South MVP Demetrius Douglas, who poured in 33 points with 10 rebounds and five assists.
Douglas was a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line as the Seahawks were a machine there, making 27 of 30 overall (90 percent accuracy). Newton Acevedo scored 15 points off the bench while Louis Walker added 14. Harbor is directed by long-time head coach Tony Carter-Loza.
In all, six South Coast teams earned playoff seeds with #9 Cerritos getting upset by #24 Copper Mountain, 94-91 in double overtime; #15 Long Beach City beaten by #18 Cypress, 76-71, and LA Southwest falling v. Riverside, 79-63. All three teams were eliminated in Round 1 games on Feb. 22.
The 2023 All-South Coast Conference Teams can be found here:
South Division
(Robert Lewis, South Coast Conference)