City College’s men’s basketball team ended their season with a loss at the California Collegiate Athletic Association playoff game in Mission Viejo at Saddleback College on Feb. 24.

The 2011-12 season was one of great triumph and learned lessons. Even though the Knights have no more games this season, the entire squad has a lot to look forward to next season.

The Knights came into the season knowing that their starters were some of the shortest in the league.

Freshman guard Marvin Sykes was given the nickname “bowling ball” because of his wide frame and 5-9 stature. The biggest player on the team, Kyle Anderson, was actually a forward, yet he and the rest of the squad were able to maintain a unique cohesiveness.

Any fan watching from the stands could see that the team possessed great speed.

Coach Mitch Charlens said that when it came to Marvin Sykes, “we had to ask him to slow down in practice when going over plays.”

Stand out players Menas Stephens, Marvin Sykes and Stephon Lamar all recorded more than a hundred field goals during the season, a feat that would be enviable for any size team.

Coach Charlens, who was the 2012 Pacific Coast Athletic Conference coach of the year, recalled the most memorable game of the season for him and his team being the bout against Imperial Valley in El Centro.

“It was a must win for us, but it was their sophomore night,” said Charlens. “Despite the long trip out there, we still won the game and made the playoffs.”

As for the different prospective schools that his team’s sophomores were being recruited by, Charlens said “they’re still deciding.”

Next year will be a time when the seven freshman on the team, Devin Iglehart, Justice Howard, Nick Meech, Bren Haley, Marvin Sykes Kyle Anderson and Jon Schroder will be in charge of passing on the knowledge they learned from this season’s experiences.

This year the team says farewell to sophomores Darin Martin, Jordan Taylor, Menas Stephens, Justin Muniz and Stephon Lamar.