Jaguars surge past SBVC, get Hornets
- Updated: March 2, 2019
2019 COMMUNITY COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL
East County Sports staff report
CHULA VISTA (3-2-2019) – Ignoring the politics which forced a pair of division titlists from the same conference to meet in early in the playoffs, Southwestern College broke open a close contest late, downing visiting San Bernardino Valley, (Mar. 1) CCCAA South Regional second-round contest.
Southwestern, now 25-4, was ranked No. 4 in the Southland, but only received the No. 8 seed for the playoffs despite capture the South Division of the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference.
Meanwhile, SBVC, which finished at 22-7, were PCAC North Division champs and ranked No. 5, yet didn’t even garner a home game at the No. 9 seed. Both sides received first-round byes before being forced to meet.
Things don’t get any easier for the Jaguars, next traveling to Orange County to meet top-seeded Fullerton in a ballgame to decide which school will reach the state Elite 8 in Ventura.
Marq Stephens led SWC with 18 points, while Marc Combs added 17, including a 3-point basket in the final minute of the first half to take a 40-39 lead at the intermission. Combs then added 14 of his points in the second half when the Jaguars pulled away.
Also scoring in double figures for Southwestern were Nathaniel Pearson (16), Jordan Cooke (13) and Tyler Simmons (11) in a
Three members of the Wolverines – K’Lon Williams, Damani Washington and Eric Hancik – each registered a team-high 14 points.
With Southwestern leading 54-51, the Jags went on a 15-4 run to muster a 69-55 advantage midway through the second half.
Riverside 77, Mt. San Jacinto 58: At Riverside, the host Tigers defeated their intra-county rivals in Friday’s (Mar. 1) second-round ballgame in the CCCAA South Regional playoffs.
The unlikely pairing saw the CCCAA gain a nice payday at the gate, but the Eagles were ranked much higher than their playoff seed, just like Southwestern and San Bernardino Valley.
Otto Taylor led Riverside (20-9) with 21 points, while C.J. Clark added 18.
For MSJC (22-6), Deshawn Millington was the lone double-digit
