Giants close regular season at home vs. West Hills-Lemoore on Feb. 21
By Nick Giannandrea
COS Athletics
With Northern California Regional men's basketball playoff seedings looming this weekend, College of the Sequoias bolstered its case for a home playoff game with a 111-98 Central Valley Conference victory over Porterville on Feb. 19 at Porter Field House.
The top eight seeds in the 19-team field receive home games, and the Giants (21-6, 10-3) are ranked No. 7 among teams from NorCal by the California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches' Association, and have the No. 5 Massey Rating among region teams heading into their regular season finale Feb. 21 against West Hills-Lemoore (5-22, 3-10). COS' four sophomores will be recognized before the 7 p.m. tip-off from Porter Field House.
Playoff seedings are expected to be announced Feb. 23, with the NorCal Regionals set to begin Feb. 26. The Giants are hoping to host a second-round game on either Feb. 28 or Feb. 29.
COS shot 71.1 percent (27 of 38) from the field and 56.3 percent (9 of 16) on 3-pointers in the first half while rolling to a 68-42 lead against Porterville (14-13, 7-6).
The Pirates got within 10 late in the second half, but could get no closer.
Ryan Johnson (Hanford High) led the Giants with 30 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Johnson made 11 of 16 shots from the field, including 5 of 9 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Tiveon Stroud (Selma) also had a big night for COS, finishing with 19 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks.
The Giants also received 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals from Savion Johnson (Hanford West); 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists from Tiyon Martin (Pasadena); and 10 points, three rebounds and three assists from Ayo Aderoboye (Lagos, Nigeria).
Nine of the 10 Giants who entered the game scored, with Carlos Allen (Atlanta) and Elihu Cobb (Santa Maria) contributing six points apiece, and Dewayne Holmes (Riverside) and Amil Fields (Hayward) each scoring five points.
Holmes played for the first time since suffering an injury Jan. 11 during a 72-53 home loss to Fresno City.
COS is looking to make its third straight trip to the NorCal Regionals. Last season, the Giants reached the state's Elite Eight tournament, where they lost 70-59 to Citrus in the quarterfinals.
This season's Elite Eight tournament is set for March 13-15 at West Hills-Lemoore.
