COS men's and women's basketball advances to state Final Eight
For the first time in over three months, the 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 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 secured a fourth straight trip to the California Community College Athletic Association's Final Eight tournament.
The Central Valley Conference champion Giants (27-3) is 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, whose team last trailed at halftime on Dec. 2 during an eventual 79-53 loss at San Francisco. "Tonight, we had an opportunity to knock out our third goal, which we accomplished. I'm 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 thrice 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 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, 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. I 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, and 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 tough 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. Some foul trouble took us a little bit out of our rhythm. But we had guys step up. I thought Tyree Gill was brilliant defensively tonight for us and kind of changed the game's complexion. 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. on March 11, and the final is at 1 p.m. on March 12.
"The thing with the Elite Eight is it's the best team 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.
Women's basketball
Without Central Valley Conference Most Valuable Player Alana Roberts for most of the final 10 minutes, College of the Sequoias' women's basketball team didn't flinch.
The third-seeded Giants overcame the loss of Roberts to foul trouble behind 13 fourth-quarter points from Maria Dias while pulling away from No. 6 San Francisco for a 72-56 victory in the Northern California Regional finals March 4 at Porter Field House.
Following its 14th straight win, Sequoias advances to the California Community College Athletic Association's State Final Eight tournament for the sixth time in the past eight seasons and for the 13th time in program history overall.
The Giants (28-2) will face Southern California Regional No. 2-seeded Palomar − the state's only undefeated team at 30-0 − with tipoff set for 7 p.m. March 10 from West Hills College-Lemoore's Golden Eagle Arena.
"It's an amazing run for this group," Sequoias coach Ray Alvarado said. "I'm proud of them. They all did great. And the coaching staff did a heck of a job."
The Giants led 52-44 when Roberts − who averages team-leading totals of 14.8 points and 10.4 rebounds per game − picked up her fourth foul and went to the bench with 9 minutes and 19 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Roberts returned at the 4:52 mark only to foul out 11 seconds later.
"I told Alana when she fouled out, this is not going to be your last game, so stay focused," Alvarado said of the former Sierra Pacific High-Hanford standout. "There is no way they will let you down, and they didn't."
Sequoias expanded its lead from 13 to 16 points in Roberts' absence as Dias scored nine points over the final 4:41. Dias scored seven straight points immediately following Roberts' departure as the Giants lead grew to 18 points (66-48) with 2:39 to play, a run that essentially sealed the outcome.
"I'm very happy to be a part of this team and this family," said Dias, a sophomore from Lisbon, Portugal. "I'm very proud of all our hard work.
"We knew it was going to be a hard game, but in the end, I think we were the better team."
San Francisco (24-5) entered riding a 16-game winning streak and played Sequoias tough through most of the first three quarters.
After falling behind by nine points in the first quarter, the Rams cut their deficit to two points (22-20) with 6:08 to play in the second.
But the Giants led 29-23 at halftime and pushed their lead beyond 10 points (38-27) with a 9-4 run to open the third quarter, capped by a jumper from Geizzle Jones (Bullard-Fresno).
San Francisco would get no closer than seven points the rest of the way.
"They were a little nervous at the beginning. You could tell," Alvarado said. "Then they kind of settled down. At halftime, I just said, look, if you want to end it here, let's end it here. Twenty-seven and three is a heck of a record. But if not, you have to dominate, and they did."
Dias finished with 20 points, six rebounds, three assists, and a steal to lead the Giants.
Tiana Holland (Washington Union-Easton) delivered 12 points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals, while Jones contributed 11 points, three assists, two rebounds, two blocks, and two steals for Sequoias.
Roberts had nine points, three rebounds, an assist, a block, and a steal while playing just 21 minutes because of foul trouble.
"The first half, we weren't playing how we usually," Roberts said. "So in the second half, we hit some shots."
The Giants also received eight points, two rebounds, and an assist from Taylor Roth (Sanger); five points, seven rebounds, five assists, and a steal from Camila Barreno (Ambato, Ecuador); four points, two rebounds, and a value from Hannah Kearnan (Redwood); and three points and a rebound from Noura Aboutaleb (Charlotte, N.C.).
"(San Francisco is) a heck of a team, but I thought we've had a lot more fight in our season," Alvarado said. "We had to will some games out, and overcome some things. (We) were just more prepared for the moment when it mattered. And then (we) started hitting shots, and (our) defense was unbelievable tonight."
Sequoias will be out to capture the second state championship in program history. The Giant's lone state title came in 1987.
"We can win it all," Roberts said. "We deserve it. We've worked hard enough this whole time."
For the second straight season, Sequoias is the only California community college out of the 88 that plays both women's and men's basketball to advance both programs to the state's Final Eight.
The Giants' third-seeded men's team will play SoCal No. 2 Citrus (27-3) at 7 p.m. on March 9.
Both Sequoias teams made the semifinals last season, with the women losing 69-53 to eventual state champion Sierra while the men lost 71-65 to eventual champ San Francisco.
The rest of the women’s Final Eight field on March 10 features NorCal No. 2 Santa Rosa (28-2) vs. SoCal No. 3 Mt. San Antonio (23-7) at 1 p.m.; SoCal No. 1 Orange Coast (29-1) vs. NorCal No. 4 Sierra (20-11) at 3 p.m. and NorCal No. 1 Butte (26-3) vs. SoCal No. 4 Cypress (22-7) at 5 p.m.
The semifinals are scheduled for 5 and 7 p.m. on March 11, with the final at 3:30 p.m. on March 12.
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.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: COS men's and women's basketball advances to state Final Eight
