College of the Sequoias basketball dismantles Reedley

College of the Sequoias' chances of winning a fifth consecutive Central Valley Conference men's basketball championship just got a little better.

The Giants saw their conference lead grow to two games with seven remaining following results of Jan. 25, which included their 93-52 dismantling of host Reedley, and Columbia's 87-81 home victory over Fresno City.

California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches' Association state No. 10-ranked Sequoias improved to 18-3 overall and 7-0 in the CVC. No. 13 Columbia pulled into a second-place conference tie with No. 15 Fresno City at 5-2.

Reedley (8-13, 2-5) led 10-9 with 14 minutes and 2 seconds to play in the first half on a Josiah James jumper.

The Giants responded with 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions − one by Javohn Garcia (Columbus, Ohio) and two by Tre'von Martin (Las Vegas) − to ignite a 23-2 run that sent them to a 32-12 lead.

The Tigers would get no closer than eight points against as the Giants pulled away for their 13th straight win.

Sequoias' lead swelled to as large as 43 points (93-50) came on two free throws by Jose Cuello (Harlem, N.Y.) with 1:21 left in the game.

Garcia led six Giants in double-figure scoring with 21 points on 8 of 13 shooting from the field, including a 3-for-3 performance from 3-point range. Garcia also had seven rebounds, four steals, two assists and a block.

Cameron Clark (Snellville, Ga.) and Tyree Gill (Sacramento) both scored 14 points, with Clark also contributing 12 rebounds, a steal and a block, and Gill adding four rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block.

Cuello, Tyjean Burrell (Sacramento) and Omari Nesbit (Sacramento) all scored 10 points. Cuello also had seven assists, six rebounds and two steals; Burrell had four rebounds, two steals and an assist; and Nesbit had two rebounds and a block.

Sequoias also received six points and two rebounds from Martin; four points, five rebounds, an assist and a block from Lucas Wilrich (Yuba City); two points and two rebounds from George Carter (Stockton); two points and two rebounds from Samuel Bazunga (Paris, France); two rebounds, an assist and a steal from Alex Argandar (Modesto) and a rebound from Takari Fields (Sacramento).

The Giants can expand their lead on the Claim Jumpers (17-4 overall) when they resume CVC play at Columbia at 6 p.m. Jan. 28.

Sequoias will play one more road game at 7 p.m. Feb. 1 at Merced (6-15, 3-4), before returning home to host West Hills-Lemoore (9-12, 2-5) at 5 p.m. Feb. 4. Admission into Porter Field House is $8 general, and $5 for seniors and students.

The Giants' final two regular season home games are set for 7 p.m. Feb. 15 against Fresno City (15-4) and 7 p.m. Feb. 17 against Reedley.

Sequoias won outright CVC championships the past two seasons, and were awarded titles in 2019 and 2020 because of Fresno City forfeits.

Women's basketball

College of the Sequoias' women's basketball team concluded the first half of Central Valley Conference play exactly where it wanted to be − all alone in first place of the seven-team league.

The Giants, who are tied for No. 3 in the current California Community College Sports Information Association state rankings, scored the game's first seven points and were never seriously threatened during an 80-38 CVC victory over host Reedley on Jan. 25.

Sequoias won its sixth straight game while improving to 19-2 overall and 6-0 in the conference. Reedley fell to 3-18 overall and 0-5 in the CVC.

The Giants jumped two spots in the state rankings released Jan. 23 on the strength of a 76-72 win over previous No. 3 Fresno City on Jan. 21. They are tied with Orange Coast (21-2), and trail only No. 1 Palomar (21-0) and No. 2 Santa Rosa (20-2).

Camila Barreno (Ambato, Ecuador) got Sequoias rolling by sinking a 3-pointer off an assist from Maria Dias (Lisbon, Portugal) on the game's first possession.

Geizzle Jones (Bullard High-Fresno) made a jumper on the Giants' next possession, and Dias converted jumpers on consecutive trips down the floor, the second off a feed from Barreno, as Sequoias scored nine points in the game's first 1 minute and 49 seconds.

The Giants led 19-9 at the end of the first quarter, 37-17 at halftime, and saw its lead balloon to as many as 47 points (73-26) with 3:53 remaining in the game on a layup by Tiana Holland (Washington Union-Easton).

Barreno scored a game-high 18 points to go along with eight assists, three rebounds and three steals as Sequoias produced four players in double-figure scoring.

Holland had 15 points, three rebounds, one steal and a block; Alana Roberts (Sierra Pacific-Hanford) had 14 points, five rebounds, one assist and a steal; and Taylor Roth (Sanger) added 11 points, four rebounds, two steals, an assist and a block.

The Giants also received six points, seven rebounds, four steals and an assist from Jones; six points, four rebounds and four assists from Dias; four points, eight rebounds and a steal from Hannah Kearnan (Redwood); four points, three rebounds and a steal from Maci Chavez (Kingsburg); and two points, an assist and a steal from Noura Aboutaleb (Charlotte, N.C.).

Sequoias is idle this weekend, then resumes CVC play at 5 p.m. Feb. 1 at Merced (12-9, 3-2).

The Giants follow that by returning home to Porter Field House on Feb. 4 to host West Hills-Lemoore (5-13, 2-2). Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. Admission is $8 general, and $5 for students and seniors.

Sequoias will also play home games at 5 p.m. Feb. 15 against state No. 6 Fresno City (19-3, 5-1) and at 5 p.m. Feb. 17 against Reedley to close the regular season.

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: College of the Sequoias basketball dismantles Reedley