MODESTO, Calif.- The Cosumnes River men's basketball team will look to extend their winning streak to seven tonight, when they take on Chabot in the second round of the 76th MJC Tournament at Modesto Junior College. This will be the second time the teams face each other this season, following the Hawks 81-74 victory over the Gladiators in the championship game of the 35th Annual James Clark Classic last month at Cosumnes River College.
CRC (6-1) has now won six straight games following their 72-64 victory over Reedley in the opening round of the MJC Tournament on Tuesday night. CRC took control of the contest from the opening tip, taking an early double-digit lead that would last the duration of the contest. The Hawks defense held the Reedley Tigers to only 15 points in the first half of play, taking a 30-15 lead into the break. Cosumnes River's night was marked by missed opportunities on offense, as they struggled to get much going against Reedley's 3-2 zone for much of the night. The Hawks struggled from the field for the entire night, converting only eight of 32 attempts in the first half, including two of six from the perimeter. Sophomore forward Jaycob Velasco led the Hawks early with nine points and 13 boards at the break.
The contest took on a faster pace in the second half, as Cosumnes River opened up their lead, pushing Reedley's deficit to nearly 20 points. However, the Hawks once again struggled from the field, shooting in the low 30's for the entire night. CRC's struggles from the field didn't follow them to the charity stripe, however, as the Hawks converted on over 70% of their attempts. The Tigers fought valiantly, bringing the lead to single digits late in the game. However, it was too little too late, as CRC closed out the 72-64 victory to advance to the next round of the 76th MJC Basketball Tournament.
The sophomore Velasco opened the tournament with an impressive 16 point, 18 rebound performance. Sophomore guard Brenden Glapion was also impressive on the night, scoring 15 points off the bench on five of eight shooting, including two of five from the perimeter. Fellow sophomores TJ Williams and AJ Bridges also scored in double-digits for the Hawks. The Tigers were led offensively by sophomore Andre Frazier, who scored a game-high 22 points on 10 of 14 shooting, including 18 points in the second half. Guards Demetri Randolph and Walter Orr also scored in double-digits for Reedley, with 13 point and 10 point performances, respectively.
Chabot (7-1) defeated Shasta College of Redding yesterday 95-75 in their opening round game of the tournament. The Gladiators took a double-digit lead early in their opener, and dominated for the duration of the contest. Guard Paris Davis led Chabot with 16 points and four rebounds in the game, shooting an efficient 7 of 9 from the field. Sophomore point guard Greg Brown had a productive game as well for Chabot, scoring 15 points while grabbing three boards, dishing out four assists and recording five steals on the day. In all five Gladiators scored in double-figures for head coach Denny Aye, as Chabot was an efficient 58% from the field on the day, including shooting 36% from the perimeter. The Gladiators lone loss of the season came against Cosumnes River in the James Clark Classic.
Tip-off for tonight's contest is scheduled for 10:00 PM, as the teams will play the final game of the tournament's third day of action. The winner of tonight's contest will take on the winner of Contra Costa-Mendocino, who plays tonight at 8 PM. That semifinal game will be played tomorrow night at 8 PM.