© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-22-10) — On the court success may have eluded the Grossmont College men's basketball team this past season, including a remarkable 10 setbacks by just five points or less.

However, the talent among the Griffins still raked in a pair of scholarships, as forward JAMES JOSEPHSON and guard DAN EBERHARDT recently accepted offers, Grossmont head coach DOUG WEBER announced.

Josephson signed with Hawai'i Pacific, while Eberhardt is headed to Cal Maritime.

"James is a great story of working hard and staying the course," said Weber on his 6-foot-10 sophomore who was cut after trying-out for Patrick Henry High, yet now possesses an NCAA Division II scholarship.

"After red-shirting, James came off the bench and was one of the team's leading 3-point shooters and also led the team in blocked shots."

Josephson blossomed, overcoming a broken hand in December to impress Hawai'i Pacific coach Daren Vorderbruegge.

"James put on good weight this summer and had a really good summer at both showcase events in Los Angeles ," added Weber. "He has a great upside and has come so far from his freshman year. He has really worked on his body and game and I believe his best basketball is yet to come."

"James has the length and ball skills to play inside and also on the perimeter. This combination of height and skill is what attracted Hawai'i Pacific.

The Warriors captured 19 games last season, placing third in the Pacific West Conference.

Meanwhile, Eberhardt was an All-Pacific Coast Athletic Conference honorable mention selection, leading Grossmont in both scoring (216 points) and assists (62). He also topped the Griffins in steals (48).

"Dan will earn his AA degree this spring with a 3.10 grade-point average," noted Weber. "He had great leadership skills to go along with his tremendous work ethic. He played every position we asked him to and was the ultimate team guy."

Cal Maritime just finished the best season in school history. The Keelhaulers posted an 18-13 overall record, finishing in a 3-way tie for first place in the NAIA California Pacific Conference.

Barrett Braun (40) helped power Cuyamaca to third place in the PCAC. He will now play college basketball for Concordia (Neb.). (Cuyamaca College photo)

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SEWARD, Neb. (5-6-10) — Former El Capitan High-Cuyamaca College standout BARRETT BRAUN has accepted a basketball scholarship to Concordia University of Nebraska.

“Barrett is a highly-skilled player who we expect to play a valuable role in our program," said Concordia head coach Grant Schmidt. "With his size, skill set and work ethic, Barrett has the potential to develop into a solid contributor and his desire to win and make his teammates better is equally impressive.”

A 6-foot-5, 214-pound wing, Braun was a two-year starter for the Coyotes and an honorable mention Pacific Coast Athletic Conference selection this season. Braun is coming off a sophomore campaign in which he posted averages of 9.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game for the Coyotes, which tied for third place in the PCAC.

At El Capitan, Braun was a two-time first team All-Grossmont North League pick and two-time team captain for coach ROSS FURROW’s Vaqueros. As a prep, Braun averaged 20.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. He was selected to the 2007-08 All-East County team.

“Barrett is an excellent 3-point shooter who has really worked on his ability to score off the dribble,” Schmidt said. “He is a hard working, team oriented player who will fit in perfectly with the Concordia basketball program.”

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EL CAJON (2-20-10) — Grossmont College sophomore guard DAN EBERHARDT was named to the All-Pacific Coast Athletic Conference basketball as selected by the conference coaches.

Eberhardt received honorable mention recognition as did Cuyamaca sophomores BARRETT BRAUN (El Capitan) and BRANDON FOUNTAIN (Helix).

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EL CAJON (2-20-10) — A long, long Grossmont College men's basketball season ended on an up note Friday (Feb. 19) after the Griffins extinguished a 6-game losing streak by up-ending visiting San Diego City College, 94-89, to cap the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference schedule.

“This was a nice way to end the season,” said Grossmont assistant COACH DIMA ARTAMONOV. “It kind of shows that we are a better team than our record indicates.”

Grossmont (5-19 overall, 5-11 PCAC) dominated the Knights on the boards, holding a 51-32 rebounding advantage in order to barely maintain the lead throughout the second half.

DAN WILLIAMS led the way with 11 boards to go along with a team-high 19 points.

“Dan was a monster out there tonight,” Artamonov added.

BRANDEN PRIDE added 16 points, most coming on second-half foul shots, plus four assists.

The Griffins placed five scorers in double figures, including DAB EBERHARDT (15), JAMES JOSEPHSON (12) and ERIC WILSON (11). Josephson and Wilson each added 8 rebounds from off the bench, helping Grossmont college with a season-best 28 offensive rebounds to score a series of putback baskets.

For San Diego City (9-17, 7-9), which finished one spot above the Griffins in the final PCAC standings, Dunnell Webb paced all scorers with 22 points.

Fri., Feb. 19
Grossmont 94, San Diego City 89
Cuyamaca 80, Palomar 75 (OT)
Southwestern 102, San Diego Mesa 58
Miramar 72, Imperial Valley 64
END REGULAR SEASON

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EL CAJON (2-18-10) — Despite 19 points by freshman BRANDEN PRIDE, the Grossmont College Griffins were toppled by visiting MiraCosta College, 73-68, in Wednesday’s (Feb. 17) Pacific Coast Athletic Conference action.

Pride, a product of Granite Hills High, landed a pair 3-pointers and dished four assists for the Griffins (4-19, 4-11 PCAC). Pride nailed 8 of 17 shots from the field overall.

MiraCosta (14-11, 10-6 PCAC), which clinched second place behind conference champion Southwestern (21-4, 15-0 PCAC), was scrambled at the end against the upset-minded Griffins. The Spartans saw a one-time 11-point lead vanish in the second half as Grossmont tied the score 63-all with two minutes to play.

Two Grossmont turnovers led to back-to-back MiraCosta layups. The Spartans sealed the victory from the free throw line.

“They are the second place team in our conference and we played them tough all the way,” said Grossmont assistant coach DIMA ARTAMONOV. “Our kids could have easily given up, but they haven’t quit. They are still playing hard.”

Grossmont closes the season by hosting San Diego City College on Friday (Feb. 19) at 7 p.m.

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IMPERIAL (2-13-10) — Grossmont College was no match for host Imperial Valley College in Friday’s (2-12-10) Pacific Coast Athletic Conference encounter.

The Griffins (4-18, 4-10 PCAC) fell behind 32-19 in the first half and never recovered.

Grossmont closes the season next week with home games against MiraCosta on Wednesday (Feb. 17) and San Diego City on Friday (Feb. 19). Both tip-off at 7.

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EL CAJON (2-11-10) — Another poor shooting night from the free throw line spelled doom for the host Grossmont College Griffins Wednesday (Feb. 10) as they fell to undefeated Pacific Coast Athletic Conference leader Southwestern, 73-60.

The Griffins (4-17, 4-9 PCAC) netted only 8 of 23 free throws against the Jaguars (19-4, 13-0). Grossmont, which lost at Southwestern 95-59 on Jan. 8, dominated the boards 49-29 in the rematch.

“It’s been frustrating,” said Grossmont assistant coach DIMA ARTAMONOV. “Our guys always play hard, but shooting free throws has been a problem all year. We’ve been in lot of close games, been blown out only three times. But it is tough to win a close game if you can’t convert from the free throw line.”

Southwestern, which clinched the conference title with the victory, led only 33-29 at intermission.

“We played a good first half, stayed with them all the way,” Artamonov said. “But their guy (Mark) Kiefer popped a couple of threes to start the second half and they started to gap us.”

CHARLES CONNER led the Griffins with 16 points and 7 rebounds. ERIC WILSON added 14 points and 10 rebounds. DAN EBERHARDT also collected 10 caroms for the Griffins.

“Sometimes it’s tough getting up in the morning knowing that we have nothing to play for but pride,” Artamonov admitted. “But the guys haven’t given up. They still come to practice, work hard and do what we ask of them.”

Grossmont plays its final road game Friday (Feb. 12) at Imperial Valley.

Trailing by as many as 15 points in the first half, the Griffins shaved the deficit to five points with less than a minute remaining. Mike Brown nailed a 3-pointer at that juncture and gave Palomar the swing vote in what turned out to be a 73-63 victory for the Comets (10-13, 5-8 PCAC).

Grossmont fell to 4-16 overall and 4-8 in the PCAC.

ELHADJI N’DIAYE led the Griffins with 11 points. PAUL BURGESS added 10.

Next up for the Griffins is a home game against PCAC front-runner Southwestern on Wednesday (Feb. 10) at 5 p.m.

Fri., Feb. 5
Palomar 73, Grossmont 63
Cuyamaca 73, MiraCosta 66
Miramar 86, San Diego Mesa 61
Imperial Valley 76, San Diego City 72

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EL CAJON (02-04-10) — Cuyamaca College sophomore BARRETT BRAUN made it look simple in the final seconds of Wednesday’s (Feb. 3) Pacific Coast Athletic Conference contest between district rivals at Grossmont.

With 2.9 seconds remaining and the game tied, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound El Capitan High graduate took an inbound pass in front of the Cuyamaca bench. Braun advanced two dribbles and then cast off a shot from the top of the key. It wasn’t a thing of beauty, but it was launched in time to beat the buzzer. Braun’s desperation shot banked off the glass and found the bottom of the net, giving the visiting Coyotes a 52-49 victory and a season sweep over the Griffins.

“We defended that shot really well,” Grossmont assistant coach DIMA ARTAMONOV said. “But give their guy credit – he made a great shot. He was five feet off the line (3-point arc).”

Artamonov noted that the Griffins had aligned their defense to “make sure high scorer Kenny Bradford” did not get a clear shot.

“He is their go-to guy and we didn’t want him to beat us,” the coach said. “Not that we didn’t have a hand in Braun’s face, because he’s their second highest scorer.”

Braun finished with a game high 13 points, the majority coming on three triples.

“This one really hurt,” Artamonov said. “Not just because they are our rivals, but we needed a win if we want to finish in the top of the conference.”

DAN EBERHARDT led Grossmont (4-15, 4-7 PCAC) with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. PAUL BURGESS added 10 points for the Griffins.

Seven of Grossmont’s last eight games have been decided by five points or fewer.

Cuyamaca (9-11, 5-6) led 25-22 at the half.

Wed., Feb. 3
Cuyamaca 52, Grossmont 49
Southwestern 97, San Diego City 79
MiraCosta 73, Imperial Valley 56
Palomar 84, San Diego Mesa 63

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EL CAJON (1-17-10) — For the second time this season, Grossmont College and Miramar wound up in an overtime scramble in Pacific Coast Athletic Conference action.

The teams split the two decisions.

The visiting Jets pulled out a 70-65 victory Friday (Jan. 29) at Grossmont. The Griffins won the first round meeting, 77-74.

Grossmont led 29-27 at halftime, but quickly fell behind in the second 20 minutes. It appeared that the Griffins were going to lose in regulation until DAN EBERHARDT and ELHADJI N’DIAYE landed long 3-pointers to knot the count at 59-59. N’Diaye’s long ranger came with 4 seconds remaining.

It was a tale of missed free throws for the Griffins (4-14, 4-6 PCAC) in the five-minute overtime as Miramar (12-9, 6-4 PCAC) maintained a share of second place. Miramar was deadly from the free throw line, nailing 19 of 22 chances.

The Jets also zoomed to a 40-27 rebounding advantage to negate Grossmont’s 6-1 edge in three-pointers.

Eberhardt’s 19 points led Grossmont. N’Diaye added 12 points, while REDD NARCISSE chipped in with 10 points and 8 rebounds.

Next up for Grossmont is a duel with district rival Cuyamaca (8-11, 4-6 PCAC) in the Griffins gym at 7 p.m.

Fri., Jan. 29
Miramar 70, Grossmont 65 (OT)
Cuyamaca 60, San Diego City 57
MiraCosta 69, Palomar 64
Southwestern 75, Imperial Valley 62

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SAN DIEGO (1-28-10) — A three-point play by former Helix High standout REDD NARCISSE in the final seconds Wednesday (Jan. 27) gave visiting Grossmont College a 64-61 Pacific Coast Athletic Conference victory over San Diego Mesa College.

Mesa defeated the Griffins by the exact same score in the PCAC opener on Dec. 11.

Narcisse led a balanced Grossmont attack with 12 points and six steals. His winning bucket and free throw combination came off a steal.

“We’ll be a stronger team in the second half of the conference season I believe,” said Grossmont assistant coach DIMA ARTAMANOV. “We’re getting a lot of input from all of our players. From game to game you never know who is going to be our high-point scorer.”

CASEY HEALY added 10 points and 6 assists for Grossmont (4-13, 4-5 PCAC). BRANDEN PRIDE also had 10 points, while ELHADJI N’DIAYE pitched in 9 points and 8 rebounds. CHARLES CONNER chipped in with 8 points and 8 rebounds.

Grossmont hosts Miramar on Friday (Jan. 29) at 7 p.m.

Wed., Jan. 27
Grossmont 64, San Diego Mesa 61
Southwestern 65, Cuyamaca 56
San Diego City 61, Palomar 51
Miramar 75, MiraCosta 63

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SAN DIEGO (1-21-10) — Woes at the free throw line continued for Grossmont College Wednesday (Jan. 20) at San Diego City College as the Griffins fell to the Knights 73-68 in a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference game at Harry West Pavilion.

Trailing by two points with less than a minute to play, the Griffins missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw situation and the Knights cleared the rebound. Grossmont (3-13, 3-5) had to foul down the stretch and SDCC (7-11, 5-3) put the game away from the charity stripe.

Overall, the Knights were 22 of 35 shooting free throws. Grossmont was only 9 of 16.

Grossmont led 36-31 at halftime.

“They pounded the ball more inside against us in the second half and we didn’t have an answer,” said Grossmont assistant DIMA ARTAMANOV. “It wasn’t that we were playing badly, they were just playing a little bit better.”

DAN EBERHARDT paced Grossmont with 20 points and 7 steals, while BRANDEN PRIDE added 13 points. CHARLES CONNER chipped in with a dozen points and 6 rebounds. ERIC WILSON topped Grossmont on the boards with 14.

Grossmont has a bye on Friday before beginning the second round on Wednesday (Jan. 27) at San Diego Mesa.

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OCEANSIDE (1-16-10) — Usually mild mannered Grossmont College men’s basketball coach DOUG WEBER had seen enough of Friday’s (Jan. 15) Pacific Coast Athletic Conference game at MiraCosta.

And that was only the first half, which the host Spartans led 37-31.

“I think Coach Weber had finally reached his boiling point,” said Grossmont assistant coach DIMA ARTAMONOV. “He just blew up and yelled the whole halftime. Prior to that, Weber smacked his whiteboard down so hard in our huddle during a time out that it broke.”

Weber’s rare meltdown seemed to light a fire under the Griffins, as they zoomed to a 73-70 upset of the second-place Spartans (9-8, 5-3 PCAC).

“Whatever it takes, I guess,” Artamonov said. “We were a different team in the second half.”

ELHADJI N’DIAYE led Grossmont (3-12, 3-4 PCAC) with 20 points. REDD NARCISSE added 17 and DAN WILLIAMS contributed 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Griffins.

“We ran our offense a lot better and made some shots with some consistency in the second half,” Artamonov said. “We also played some lockdown defense. That wasn’t the case in the first half when we were inconsistent across the board.”

Grossmont is in a four-way tie for fourth place, and 1.5 games behind MiraCosta for second. The Griffins conclude the first round of conference activity when they host San Diego City College Wednesday (Jan. 20) at 5 p.m.

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EL CAJON (1-14-10) — Playing one of the lowest scoring games in the state this season, the Grossmont College Griffins still found a way to lose Wednesday’s (Jan. 13) Pacific Coast Athletic Conference contest to visiting Imperial Valley College, 47-46.

This was a match of poor shooting teams. Grossmont (2-12, 2-4) connected on only 14 of 56 shots from the field (25 percent), (3 of 14 from 3-point range) and 13 of 26 free throws (50 percent). IVC (4-13, 2-4) didn’t do much better, sinking just 30 percent of 57 shots from the field, including 3-of-25 from long distance. The Arabs were better marksmen from the free throw stripe, canning 10 of 14 chances.

Grossmont missed a free throw that would have given them the win in regulation. In overtime, they went 0-for-4 from the charity stripe, twice missing the front end of a 1-and-1.

CHARLES CONNER (11 points) and ERIC WILSON (10) led the Griffins in scoring.

Next up for the Griffins is a duel against MiraCosta Friday in North County at 5 p.m.

Wed., Jan. 13
Imperial Valley 47, Grossmont 46 (OT)
San Diego Mesa 60, Cuyamaca 50
Southwestern 79, MiraCosta 66
San Diego Miramar 76, Palomar 71

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CHULA VISTA (1-9-10) — Grossmont College got a pretty good idea why Southwestern College is leading the Pacific Coast Athletic Association basketball race.

And it didn’t take long, as they succumbed to the Jaguars, 95-59.

“We stayed with them for about five or six minutes and then they began to dominate,” Grossmont College coach DOUG WEBER said. “Their press began to hurt us. I think we had 25 turnovers.”

The Jaguars (9-5, 5-0) built a 49-20 lead by halftime.

DAN EBERHARDT led the Griffins (2-3, 2-13) with 15 points. CHARLES CONNER added 12.

Next up for Grossmont is a home game against Imperial Valley on Wednesday (Jan. 13) at 5 p.m.

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EL CAJON (1-7-10) — REDD NARCISSE, a reserve freshman guard, buried a 3-point shot with 19 seconds remaining Wednesday (Jan. 6), giving Grossmont College a 61-59 Pacific Coast Athletic Conference victory over visiting Palomar.

It was only the second win in 12 decisions for Grossmont overall. However, it balanced the Griffins PCAC record at 2-2, leaving them in fourth place one-half game behind third place Cuyamaca which fell to MiraCosta, 56-53.

Palomar (7-8, 2-3 PCAC), which led the majority of the game, turned the ball over nine times on its last 12 possessions.

The Comets led by 11 points, 56-45, with just over five minutes to play, but let a win over the Griffins slip through their fingers, literally, after that.

DAN WILLIAMS, who clicked on 7 of 9 shots from the floor, led the Griffins with 17 points and 8 rebounds. DAN EBERHARDT chipped in with 9 points and 7 assists.

Kevin Deeb led Palomar with 18 point and six rebounds

Grossmont travels to Southwestern (8-5, 4-0 PCAC) on Friday (Jan. 8), at 5 p.m.

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LINDA VISTA (12-30-09) — Grossmont College fell behind West Hills College of Coalinga by 21 points in the first half of Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) second round of the San Diego Mesa College Tournament and never recovered, falling 71-61.

The loss eliminated Grossmont (1-10) from the tournament.

West Hills hit five 3-pointers to open up the early advantage.

“They came out with a lot of energy,” Grossmont coach DOUG WEBER said. “We couldn’t match their intensity until 10 minutes into the game.”

ERIC WILSON led Grossmont with 17 points and 11 rebounds. DAN EBERHARDT and OX MAVUNGU added 9 points apiece.

“Ox was aggressive, did a nice job for us,” Weber said.

Grossmont cut the deficit to 58-53 in the second half, but could draw no closer.

“We can’t seem to put two halves together,” Weber said. “We have to figure it out.”

Grossmont returns to action on Jan. 5 when it hosts Palomar in a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference game at 5 p.m.

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LINDA VISTA (12-29-09) — Grossmont College’s miseries continued at the free throw line in Monday’s (Dec. 28) opening round of the San Diego Mesa College Tournament.

The Griffins (1-9) missed 16 free throws and that was the difference in an 80-76 loss to Santa Ana.

Grossmont led most of the first half before the Dons canned a 3-pointer at the buzzer to edge ahead 37-36 at intermission.

The Dons carried that momentum in the second half as they opened up a 52-38 advantage. Twice Grossmont fought back to within two points – 66-64 and 74-72 – but never caught up.

BRANDEN PRIDE paced Grossmont with 25 points. REDD NARCISSE added 14.

The Griffins face West Hills College of Coalinga in Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) second round of the tournament. Tipoff is set for noon.

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EL CAJON (12-19-09) — Grossmont College let a 14-point halftime lead slip through its fingers Friday (Dec. 18) and thus dropped a key Pacific Coast Athletic Conference contest to district rival Cuyamaca, 66-59.

The Griffins scored only 19 points over the final 20 minutes to give this one away.

“We did a good job of taking the ball inside in the first half to take advantage of our size,” said Grossmont assistant coach DIMA ARTAMANOV said. “But we got away from what was working. We started rushing our shots, took too many threes in the second half.”

Grossmont head coach DOUG WEBER added, “Give Cuyamaca credit, too. They made some nice adjustments at halftime and played great defense.”

REDD NARCISSE rang up a game-high 21 points for Grossmont (1-8, 1-2 PCAC). ELHADJI N’DIAYE added 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Griffins.

A.J. USSERY (13 points) and AARON MIMS (11) paced the Coyotes (5-5, 3-1 PCAC).

Grossmont won’t return to action until Monday (Dec. 28) when the Griffins face Santa Ana in the opening round of the San Diego Central Courtyard by Marriott Tournament (formerly the Mesa College Holiday Tournament) at noon.

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MIRA MESA (12-17-09) — When you’re 0-7 and your team is trailing 25-4 in the first seven minutes of the game, what, as a coach, do you do?

Grossmont College’s DOUG WEBER found himself in that situation during Wednesday’s (Dec. 16) Pacific Coast Athletic Conference encounter at Miramar College.

“It’s not really where you want to be,” Weber admitted. “But give credit to our kids. They never gave up.”

Thus, Grossmont posted its first win of the season, grounding the Jets 77-74 in overtime.

Suddenly, the Griffins (1-7, 1-1 PCAC) are sort of in the thick of the conference race. They’ll get a better idea if they are pretenders or contenders when they face Cuyamaca (2-1, 4-5) on Friday (Dec. 18) at 5 p.m. in Rancho San Diego.

But first how about that comeback at Miramar?

“I think the big thing about this game is our defense,” Weber said. “We held them to a total of 25 points in the second half and overtime. We must have taken six charges. Those extra possessions really helped us.”

REDD NARCISSE hit a runner to tie the game at 67-67 and send it into overtime. The Helix High graduate also nailed a 3-pointer following an ELHADJI N’DIAYE bucket to cast Grossmont into a 5-point lead in the extra session.

BRANDEN PRIDE also dropped in a pair of free throws to help the Griffins maintain the lead at the final buzzer.

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EL CAJON (12-12-09) — Head coach DOUG WEBER and his Grossmont College Griffins are probably wondering what it’s going to take to get that elusive first victory.

They keep coming close but so far, no cigar.

Thinking that the start of Pacific Coast Athletic Conference action would provide a spark, the Griffins still came up short on Friday (Dec. 11) as they dropped a 64-61 decision to visiting San Diego Mesa (2-5).

ELHADJI N’DIAYE continued to produce big numbers for Grossmont, jamming in 20 points while grabbing 12 rebounds. DAN EBERHARDT added 8 points and 4 assists. ELIGE CARTER topped the team with 3 steals.

For the second game in a row the Griffins (0-7, 0-1 PCAC) cut down on their turnovers, giving the ball away only16 times. But they could not pick it up at the shooting end, hitting just 2-of-13 from three-point range.

Next up for Grossmont is a PCAC road game against Miramar at Scripps Ranch High School on Wednesday (Dec. 16) at 7 p.m.

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EL CAJON (12-6-09) — Despite cutting down their turnovers to a season low 18 in Saturday’s (Dec. 5) second round of the 38th annual Grossmont College Invitational, the Griffins still found a way to lose.

For starters, the Griffins were a paltry 1-for-13 from three-point shooting range. To make matters worse, the visiting Cypress College Chargers (5-2) outscored Grossmont 24-10 from the free throw line and continued on to an 88-67 victory.

ELHADJI N’DIAYE racked up 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Griffins (0-6), who have been eliminated from the tournament that concludes on Sunday (Dec. 6).

BRANDEN PRIDE and PAUL BURGESS added 10 points apiece for Grossmont, which must now prepare for the start of the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference season. The Griffins tip off that campaign by hosting San Diego Mesa on Dec. 11 at 5 p.m.

Among the early favorites in the nine-team PCAC are Miramar and Imperial Valley.

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EL CAJON (12-5-09) — It hasn’t quite been home sweet home for the Grossmont College Griffins so far this season. They’ve lost all three of their home games by a combined total of 12 points.

The Griffins (0-5) added to their frustration when they dropped an 85-80 overtime decision to Rio Hondo in Friday’s (Dec. 4) opening round of the 38th Annual Grossmont College Invitational.

ELHADJI N’DIAYE paced the Griffins with 21 points and 15 rebounds. He converted 11 of 18 free throws. DAN EBERHARDT added 18 points and 7 rebounds. ELIGE CARTER contributed 17 points, hitting 5 of 7 from the floor including a pair of 3-pointers.

Where the Griffins faltered was at the free throw line, converting only 58 percent of 45 chances.

Grossmont hosts Cypress in Saturday’s (Dec. 5) consolation semifinals at 4 p.m.

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EL CAJON (11-29-09) — Frustration continued to stalk DOUG WEBER and his Grossmont College Griffins men’s basketball squad in Saturday’s (Nov. 28) non-conference contest against visiting El Camino College of Torrance.

Here’s the all-too-familiar formula that caused the Griffins (0-4) to fall to the Warriors, 60-57. Grossmont turned the ball over 28 times compared to just 19 for El Camino. Furthermore, the Griffins shot a paltry 7-for-16 from the free throw line while El Camino (2-3) netted 15 of 30 freebies.

“We were a much bigger team than El Camino, yet we were unable to take advantage of it,” Weber said. “Our bigs made 10 turnovers among them. It would be one thing if we were going fast or being pressed of trapped, but that wasn’t the case.”

El Camino camped in a 2-3 zone for the majority of the contest. Grossmont managed to shoot 41 percent (23-for-56) from the floor with 6-foot-10 wingman JAMES JOSEPHSON leading the way with 14 points. The Patrick Henry High product netted 5 of 12 shots, including a pair of threes. He also made both of his two free throws and hauled down 6 rebounds.

“James is going to be a good one,” said Weber, noting that Josephson did not play high school basketball. “He was 6-2 when he graduated and has had a growing spurt since he came over to us.” Josephson was a redshirt when he arrived at Grossmont three years ago. He played sparingly as a freshman.

“I lot of colleges are looking at him, including some Division I schools,” Weber added. “He’s a good perimeter shooter and a good face up post guy. I think he’ll be a good three guy on offense, but needs to add some bulk to cover four guys at the next level. He’s shows a lot of promise.”

Next up for the Griffins is the 38th Annual Grossmont College Invitational Dec. 4-6. The Griffins open against Rio Hondo on opening night at 6 p.m.

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EL CAJON (11-25-09) — Grossmont College spoiled its home opener with a poor shooting start and by committing 27 turnovers Tuesday (Nov. 23) in succumbing to Valencia’s College of the Canyons, 78-74.

The Griffins (0-3), who trailed 34-30 at halftime, fought back to take a brief lead in the second half. A steal and layup by Grossmont’s BRANDEN PRIDE (Granite Hills) tied the game 44-44 with 12:01 remaining. TY HOSLEY (Helix) canned a pair of free throws to put the Griffins on top 46-44 and it was a dogfight to the finish.

Canyons (5-2) snapped a 71-71 tie with seven free throws over the final 1:06. Grossmont cut the deficit to 76-74 on a three-pointer by 6-foot-10 JAMES JOSEPHSON, but it was too little too late.

ERIC WILSON, a 6-foot-6 freshman from Rio Linda, paced the Griffins with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Josephson, out of Patrick Henry, added 16 points and 7 boards, while DAN EBERHARDT of Roseville Woodcreek, chipped in with 12 points.

Next up for the Griffins is a home game against El Camino on Saturday (Nov. 28) at 3 p.m.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (11-23-09) — The Grossmont College Griffins men’s basketball team will open their home season this week with a pair of non-conference games.

The Griffins (0-2), who began the campaign with losses to Citrus (87-54) and Mt. San Jacinto (101-88) in last week’s San Diego City College Tournament, will host College of the Canyons (4-2) of Valencia on Tuesday (Nov. 24) at 3 p.m.

On Saturday (Nov. 28), the Griffins will entertain El Camino (1-3) at 3 p.m.

In the season opener against Citrus, the Griffins received 16 points and 9 rebounds from ELHADJI N’DIAYE, a 6-foot-5 freshman out of Brooklyn. Helix High product REDD NARCISSE chipped in 9 points.

Grossmont pepped up its offense against Mt. San Jacinto. Steele Canyon High alum ELIGE CARTER canned 17 points, most of it coming on his 7-for-9 shooting from the floor. Sophomore DAN EBERHARDT out of Roseville Woodcreek, added 14 points and 5 rebounds and N’Diaye pitched in 12 points.

The Griffins are coming off a 13-17 season.