ffered a tough home loss at the hands of the Southwestern College Jaguars, but five days later clinched the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference Title.
They advance to first round of the PCAC playoffs that start Feb. 22.
The Knights came into the game against the Jaguars, Feb. 10, confident as they were ranked No. 12 in the state.
With only three league games remaining in the season the Knights were playing a team they had already beaten, but the night proved to be an evening where history would unfortunately not repeat itself.
As the game began it quickly became apparent that the Jaguars were not planning on ending their season quietly.
The Knights were challenged in the first half by Southwestern’s aggressive offensive weapons.
Southwestern guard Derrick Thompson and forward Blake Yocum were too much to handle as the Jaguars dominated in the paint.
City’s Menas Stephen’s shooting abilities looked good from both the three-point and free-throw lines. Freshman guard Marvin Sykes also looked strong in front of the basket and led his team in scoring through out the game.
Unable to break-through the lead in the first half, City went into the locker room trailing by eight points.
The Jaguars’ defense held strong as the game went into its second half. Many times the Knights looked overpowered, not able to contend with Southwestern’s speedy field goals.
Coach Mitch Charlens decided to add some flavor into his team in the second half by putting in freshman guard Bren Haley. Haley showed great hustle as well as great maturity as the Knights gained some crucial free-throws with five minutes remaining in the game.
The Jaguars committed a badly timed shot-clock violation with 4 minutes remaining, giving the ball back to the Knights.
Marvin Sykes landed a superb 3-point shot with 1:25 left in the game, but sadly it was still not enough to beat Southwestern College.
San Diego City College fans and family members left the Harry West Gym that night feeling a bit confused over the home team’s loss.
Five days later it was a much different outcome.
Playing Feb. 15 against the Imperial Valley Arabs on their court, the Knights prevailed 86-79.
The win gave the Knights the PCAC Title.
In their last game of the regular season, Feb. 17, the Knights won big against Mira Costa Spartans 96-80.
The Knights ended their season with an overall record of 20-7.
