The San Diego City College men’s basketball team qualified for the next round of the Grossmont College 51st Annual Basketball Tournament after defeating Saddleback College, 76-58, on Dec. 1. 

After leading by only three points at halftime, the Knights returned to dominate the second half with significant improvements in their field goal, 3-point and free throw percentages.

On the defensive end, the Knights held a tight full-court press throughout the game, giving City College 39 points off turnovers. 

“I knew (Saddleback) liked to set up their offensive and run their plays,” head coach Mitch Charlens said, “and so we wanted to disrupt that. So 22 turnovers, it was great for us.”

City College sophomore guard KJay Bradley said the Knights usually like to play aggressively on defense.

“That’s definitely how we want to play: get steals, push the ball, throw lobs, hit threes,” said Bradley, who had four steals himself. “So we did our game plan.”

The Knights also managed the victory despite missing two of their star players. 

Freshman forward Denis Kamburov was out with a sprained ankle and sophomore guard Logan Huston was recovering from surgery on his foot.

“We each played our roles,” said sophomore forward Alex Crawford, who scored 15 points, “and I think we really meshed together well this game and we played good together.”

The Knights will play Los Angeles Trade Technical College next in the semifinals of the Grossmont Tournament on Sat., Dec. 2.