Miramar, City claim tournament titles

By ECS Staff
Updated: November 4, 2018

The Miramar College men's basketball team after winning the Gehler Memorial Tournament

2018 COMMUNITY COLLEGE BASKETBALL

EastCountySports.com staff report

SAN DIEGO (11-4-2018) – A pair of San Diego County-based community colleges held tournaments over the weekend, and each captured the championship by defeating the state-ranked opposition.

San Diego Miramar College raced through three games to the title, sliding past Santa Monica, 85-79, at Hourglass Fieldhouse. Meanwhile, San Diego City posted a 2-0 showing, capped by an 85-74 subduing of Citrus.

MIRAMAR 85, SANTA MONICA 79 – Trailing over the opening 35 minutes, the Jets hit the 3-ball down the stretch to topple the state-rated Corsairs and capture the championship of the Hourglass Invitational.

Chapman Harris and Setis Blake hit from downtown, the later with 01 remaining to take the lead, 68-67.

Harris then dribbled around an over-playing defender attempting to stop the bomb for a layin, then Blake hit another triple for a 73-69 lead to highlight a 21-10 run to overcome a 7-point deficit.

Santa Monica (2-1) fought back to take a 75-73 lead with 2:28 left, but Miramar went on another run, closing the contest with a 12-4 outburst to win it.

Blake hit another triple to grab the lead for keeps at 76-75 with 2:08 left. DenHerder Carsten then hit a short jumper off an assist by Damien Miller, who then beat the Santa Monica trap for a layin with 45 seconds left to seal the triumph.

Setis paced all scorers with 27 points and was tabbed the event’s most valuable player.

Ryan Hagood posted 19 points and 9 rebounds before fouling out for Miramar (3-0), while DenHerder added 13 points.

Santa Monica, which held a 40-32 halftime lead, points from Daisone Hughes, while Daniel Zahabian ca15 points.

SAN DIEGO CITY 85, CITRUS 74 – The Knights (2-0) remained unbeaten after downing the visiting Owls in a battle of state-ranked ballclubs in the title game of the second annual SDCC Invitational.

It was the second straight Invite title for SDCC, but when you go back to the days of the old City College Tournament of the 1980s, it’s actually the school’s third consecutive crown on their own home court. Back then, the school played on the 84-foot court at San Diego High School before Harry West Gymnasium opened earlier this century.

Freshman Robby Robinson poured in a game-high 25 points to go with 11 rebounds and a pair of blocks. Robinson, who totaled 40 points and 21 rebounds in the two tournament games over the weekend, was named tournament Most Valuable Player.

Also named all-tournament was City freshman Kai Huntsberry, who contributed 18 points, four rebounds, and three assists off the bench against Citrus, and sophomore Joseph Riley, who scored 14 points off the bench against Barstow and nine points as a starter on Saturday.

From Citrus, Josh Caston (17 points) and Psalm Maduakor (15) was also selected, along with Leonard Stallings of Orange Coast. The Pirates downed Barstow, 97-87, in the game for third place.

Griffins, Coyotes can’t find win column in opening tournaments

2018 COMMUNITY COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL

East County Sports staff report

PALM DESERT (11-4-2018) – The start of the men’s college basketball season has been a slow one for both Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges, as both suffered their third loss in as many days on Saturday (Nov. 3).

The Griffins fell to state-ranked Copper Mountain, 61-42, at the College of the Desert Tournament. Meanwhile, the Coyotes were pasted by MiraCosta, 87-56, at the Miramar College Tournament in Mira Mesa.

Grossmont (0-3) attempted to slow down the tempo against the high-octane Fighting Cacti — yes, that is the official school mascot — yet still trailed 25-17 at the intermission before losing touch in the second half despite holding the advantage of more rebounds and fewer turnovers.

Freshman guard Jabbar Wade came off the bench with a club-high 13 points. Sophomore forward Josh Burton (Patrick Henry) added 10 points and 5 rebounds.

MIRACOSTA 76, CUYAMACA 56 – While Grossmont remained close for a half, the Coyotes were out of this contest from the start after the Spartans mounted a 47-16 cushion by the intermission.

Micah Porter, a sophomore out of Lincoln, came off the bench to score a team-best 11 points for Cuyamaca (0-3), helping to counter the 9-for (27.3 percent) shooting performance by the starters at the Hourglass Fieldhouse court.

Elsewhere

IMPERIAL VALLEY 68, PALOMAR 64 – In the third-place game of the Miramar Tournament, Arabs forwards Quincey Brown (14 points) and Javon Nutter (12) held just enough control inside to skip past the Comets (1-2) in a battle of Pacific Coast Athletic Conference programs.

Brown sank a mid-range jump shot off a Nutter assist to make it 62-54 with 2:16 remaining. Nutter then sank a 3-point shot with a minute to go, followed by 3-for-4 shooting at the foul line to cement the triumph.

Palomar sophomore guard Jamario Harris (Temecula-Great Oak) collected was the high-scorer.

SOUTHWESTERN 95, RIO HONDO 69 – Jose Serrano scored a game-high 23 points to power the Jaguars past the Roadrunners in the consolation final at the Miramar Tournament. SWC (2-1) dominated on the boards, holding a 51-35 rebounding advantage.