San Diego City College guard KJay Bradley, background center, displays his shooting prowess against Palomar College, Jan. 19, 2024. Bradley is No. 3 in Pacific Coast Athletic Conference scoring at 17.5 points per game. Photo by Vince Outlaw/City Times Media

GAME PREVIEW: City men’s basketball heads to Cuyamaca for season’s second matchup

Knights drop to No. 5 in California coaches poll after first conference loss at MiraCosta, largest margin of victory at Grossmont

Vince Outlaw, Multimedia Journalist

January 31, 2024

San Diego City College’s men’s basketball (17-4 overall, 8-1 conference) heads to El Cajon Wednesday at 5 p.m. for the second matchup of the season against Cuyamaca College (9-12, 4-5).

The two teams met Dec. 15 at City’s Harry West Gym in a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference game that saw the Knights convert 31 points on 21 Coyote turnovers on their way to a 38-point victory, 95-57.

“They run good stuff, good action,” Charlens said after their first matchup. “So we wanted to deny everything and not let them get into their sets. And I thought we did a good job and we forced them into 21 turnovers.”

The Knights are currently in second place in Pacific Coast Athletic Conference standings, behind league leader MiraCosta College, who is undefeated in conference play at 8-0.

City fell two places to No. 5 in the Jan. 29 California Community College coaches poll after their Jan. 24 loss at MiraCosta, 78-72. MiraCosta made their first appearance of the season in the poll, coming in at No. 26.

GO KNIGHTS ⚪️?! “5. San Diego City (17-4)—The Knights slipped two spots thanks to a 6-point upset defeat v. #26 MiraCosta last week. San Diego is one loss back of MiraCosta in the PCAC standings.” https://t.co/pFLz44qwP7

— Vince Outlaw (@vinceoutlaw) January 31, 2024

Guard KJay Bradley, the Knights’ leading scorer and No. 3 in PCAC, adds 17.5 points per game, 5.1 assists (No. 1in the PCAC) and 2.5 steals.

City has five other players averaging double-figure points in conference play, including Alex Crawford (14.4), Al Green (14.1), Keavie Love (10.3) and Dexter Stratton (11.0).

City is led on the boards by Crawford, who is averaging 6.5 rebounds per game with Stratton adding 5.4. Bradley is No. 2 in the PCAC in steals at 2.5 per game with Green right behind him at No. 3, getting 2.3 steals per game.

The Coyotes are led by guard Xavier Rubio, who averages 17.4 points per game and 3.8 assists. Rubio also leads the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference in steals at 3.8 per game.

Cuyamaca center Patrick Brinkman is their leading rebounder at 8 per game, ranks second in the PCAC in blocks at 2.8 per game and adds 12.5 points per game.

City is back on the court after their largest margin of victory this season in a 112-63 win at Grossmont College Jan. 26. Seven Knights scored in double figures in the win.

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The Coyotes are looking to get back on track on their home court after losing their last two games on the road at San Diego Miramar College (74-44) and Palomar College (103-79).

Other Jan. 31 games in the PCAC include:

Grossmont at Southwestern
MiraCosta at Imperial Valley
San Diego Miramar at Palomar

The Knights conclude this four-game road trip on Feb. 2 at San Diego Mesa and return home Friday, Feb. 7 at 5 p.m. versus Southwestern College.

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