Giants returning to men's state Final 8; open against Citrus at 7 p.m. March 9
By Nick Giannandrea
COS ATHLETICS
For the first time in more than three months, College of the Sequoias men's basketball team faced a halftime deficit during the Northern California Regional finals against Redwoods.
But the Giants weren't about to allow one of the most successful seasons in the program's nearly 100-year history to come to an end.
With Javohn Garcia and Jose Cuello combining for 24 points and four steals in the second half, third-seeded Sequoias rallied for a 58-49 victory over No. 6 Redwoods on March 4 at Porter Field House to extend a state co-leading 22-game winning streak and secure a fourth straight trip to the California Community College Athletic Association's Final Eight tournament.
The Central Valley Conference champion Giants (27-3) are scheduled to face Southern California No. 2-seeded Citrus (27-3) -- champions of the Western State-South Conference -- at 7 p.m. March 9 from West Hills-Lemoore College's Golden Eagle Arena.
"We had four goals going into the year: win a conference championship, get a top-four seed, make the Elite Eight and win a state title," said Giants coach Dallas Jensen, who's team last trailed at halftime Dec. 2 during an eventual 79-53 loss at San Francisco. "Tonight we had an opportunity to knock out our third goal and we accomplished it. I'm really proud of the guys for getting to this point in the season."
With a .900 winning percentage that trails only the .903 achieved by former coach Rusty Smith's 2003-04 team (28-3) in the history of a program that dates to 1926-27, Sequoias went into the locker room behind 23-22 against a team it blew out 88-64 during the second round of the NorCal Regionals last season. The teams traded the lead 11 times and were tied on three occasions during the first half.
The lead would switch six more times in the second half before a 3-pointer by Tyjean Burrell (Sacramento) put the Giants ahead for good at 32-30 with 14 minutes and 1 second remaining. That ignited a 12-2 run capped by a layup from Garcia (Columbus, Ohio) off a feed from Terri Miller (Clovis North High) with 10:59 left that put Sequoias ahead 41-32.
Redwoods (26-4) would get no closer than five points the rest of the way as the Giants turned up the defensive pressure.
"I felt we just stayed together as a team," said Garcia, a transfer from NCAA Division I Massachusetts. "Coach said in the locker room these 20 minutes are up to us. We had to put it all together and get some defensive stops, and start the offense."
Sequoias forced 11 turnovers -- getting two steals apiece from Garcia and Cuello (Harlem, N.Y.) and three from Tyree Gill (Sacramento) -- while limiting the Corsairs to one 3-pointer in the second half.
"We started the first half sluggish. We didn't play our brand of basketball," Cuello said. "We were just being complacent. We weren't playing with energy. Our big man Terri (Miller) had two fouls, that played a big part. But we picked it up in the second half. Picked up the energy.
"I felt it started on the defensive side. We're trying to prove that when we play defense for 40 minutes, nobody in the state can play with us."
Sequoias shot 25 percent from the field (7 of 28) in the first half as Miller, the CVC's co-MVP along with Garcia, sat for the final 16:39 in foul trouble. The Giants shot a more characteristic 48 percent (12 of 25) in the second half.
"I thought Redwoods was brilliant. Coach (Ryan) Bisio did a phenomenal job having his guys ready to play," Jensen said. "They were extremely hard to guard on the offensive end, and they were well prepared defensively for us.
"I thought there was a lid on the rim in the first half. That's the worst I've seen us shoot in a long time. There was some foul trouble that took us a little bit out of our rhythm. But we had guys step up. I thought Tyree Gill was actually brilliant defensively tonight for us and kind of changed the complexion of the game. His ability to guard on the perimeter and get out in transition really changed the course of the game in the second half."
Garcia finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, three steals, an assist and a block to lead the Giants.
Cuello delivered 16 points, four rebounds, two steals, an assist and a block, and Burrell contributed nine points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals while playing all 40 minutes.
Miller, who announced a scholarship offer from NCAA Division I Cal Baptist on Feb. 28, added four points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Sequoias also received five points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists from Gill; five points and two rebounds from Omari Nesbit (Sacramento); six rebounds and an assist from Cameron Clark (Snellville, Ga.); two rebounds from Tre'von Martin (Las Vegas) and a rebound from Alex Argandar (Modesto).
The Giants will be making their fifth trip to the state Final Eight in the past seven championship seasons, and their 17th appearance in program history.
Sequoias reached the semifinals last season, losing 71-65 to eventual state champion San Francisco.
The Giants have won state titles twice previously, in 1953 and 1982.
"I feel like we can win it all," Garcia said. "This team can do whatever. We've got all the pieces."
The men's state Final Eight on March 9 also features NorCal No. 2 San Jose (26-4) against SoCal No. 3 East Los Angeles (26-3) at 1 p.m.; SoCal No. 1 Fullerton (29-1 and also on a 22-game winning streak) vs. NorCal No. 4 West Valley (26-4) at 3 p.m.; and NorCal No. 1 San Francisco (27-3) vs. SoCal No. 4 San Bernardino Valley (27-3) at 5 p.m.
Semifinals are scheduled for 1 and 3 p.m. March 11, and the final is at 1 p.m. March 12.
"The thing with the Elite Eight is it's the best teams in California. Everyone that's there can win a state title," Jensen said. "More than anything, I want the boys to have that experience. It's great for exposure. It's something they will look back on and remember for the rest of their lives.
"I do believe we have the pieces to win it. I think we've been playing great basketball over the past couple of months. But at the end of the day, you have to catch some breaks along the way. It's not easy to win three tough games in three games. We have to hope we stay healthy and make some shots."
Tickets are $12 for general admission and $8 for students, faculty and staff with ID, seniors 60 and older and children 12 and younger. Tickets may be purchased online at https://cccaa.hometownticketing.com/embed/all. Cash will not be accepted at the door.
For the second straight season, Sequoias is the only program of the 88 California community colleges that offer men's and women's basketball to advance both teams to the state Final Eight.
The Giants' NorCal No. 3-seeded women take on SoCal No. 2 Palomar (30-0) at 7 p.m. March 10.
