SUSANVILLE, Calif. - The Cosumnes River men's basketball team hits the road this evening, as they travel to Susanville to participate in the first annual Lassen College Classic. They'll open the event at 6 PM tonight against the host Lassen Cougars, in the second matchup between the two teams this season.
The Hawks enter the event with an 8-2 overall record, having just recently taken fifth-place in the 76th Annual MJC tournament in Modesto last week. CRC opened that tournament with a 72-64 victory over Reedley in the first round before falling to Chabot in the second round. They closed out the event with two straight victories over Mendocino and Cuesta respectively, finishing 3-1 in the tournament. Sophomore post Jaycob Velasco, CRC's Student-Athlete of the Week, took All-Tournament honors.
Cosumnes River is led offensively by a trio of sophomores, headlined by the 6'7" Velasco. Velasco, a redshirt sophomore who has started every game in his CRC career, is averaging 18.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per contest through ten games this season. Sophomore guard AJ Bridges and sophomore post TJ Williams are also averaging double-digits in scoring for the Hawks, at 17.7 and 10.8 points per game, respectively.
Lassen (8-5) also went 3-1 in the 76th MJC tournament, taking three straight victories after falling in the opening round. The Cougars dropped their opening round match against Sacramento City 83-76, before reeling off three consecutive victories against Yuba, Siskiyous, and host Modesto in the consolation final. Head coach Devin Aye and his team will be looking to take the season series against the Hawks tonight in their home opener. Lassen took their first contest against the Hawks 97-94 on the season's opening night, in the opening round of the San Jose City College Tip-off Classic. The teams will face off a third time later this month in the opening game of the Chabot Holiday Classic.
For the Cougars, four players average double-digits in scoring this year, including a trio of talented freshman. Leading Lassen is freshman wing Denzel Famble at 14.2 points per contest. The 6'6" freshman also leads the Cougars in rebounding at over six per game. Fellow freshmen Meshawn Beard and Marvin White are also averaging double-digits in scoring, as is sophomore Lawrence Otis. Defensively, the Cougars are led by freshman post Juandrico Walker, currently averaging over three blocks per game. The 6'8" Virginia native is also averaging over eight points and five rebounds for the Cougars.
Tonight's game between Lassen and Cosumnes River tips off a weekend that will see the Hawks play three games in three days. Cosumnes River faces Simpson tomorrow before closing out the event against Feather River on Sunday. Tomorrow's game against Simpson will tipoff at 4 PM, while the contest against FRC is scheduled to begin at 1 PM.