Hawks Soar to State Finals

Santiago Canyon continued its winning ways on Saturday night as they hosted Cerritos College in the Southern California Regional Finals.  The Hawks, seeded #1 in the south, defeated the Falcons, seeded #8, by the score of 89-67.  SCC now moves on in the State Finals to the Elite Eight hosted by West Hills College in Lemoore.  SCC came out strong with back to back three pointers by Lucas Holden and continued attacking all night.  The Hawks never relinquished the lead throughout the game.  The lead grew to 10 points at the 12:08 mark and stayed within that range for the remainder of the half, with a halftime score of 42-32. Antoine Jenkins continued his strong play with 12 points in the half to lead the way. The Hawks saw 7 different players score. A.J. Garrity and Paulo Araujo each had 7 points, while Lucas Holden and Tyler Goodlow both scored 6 points. Araujo also contributed 4 rebounds in the half. SCC connected on 5 three pointers on 14 attempts for 35.7%.

The second half started with a quick 5 points by Antoine Jenkins on a drive to the basket and a 3-pointer to stretch the lead to 15.  Cerritos battled throughout, but was never able to get the lead into single digits. The Hawks offensive tempo and defensive toughness was too much on the night. SCC's largest lead was 24 points with 4:17 left in the game. Jenkins finished the night as the game's leading scorer with 32 points.  He also dished out 5 assists. Garrity knocked down 3 three-pointers on his way to 19 points. Holden and Araujo each scored 9 points, while David Agba scored 8 points. Agba and Holden both secured 7 rebounds on the night. Agba had a great defensive game, which included 3 blocked shots. SCC made 8 three-pointers, while Cerritos connected on just 4.  The Hawks were solid from the free throw line by making 17 out of 19.  Santiago Canyon's team defense was key throughout the night. They recorded 11 steals and scored 27 points off of Cerritos' turnovers. Paul Vilela led the way with 4 steals.

With the 89-67 win, SCC improves its record to 28-2 on the season. They now advance to the Elite 8 of the CCCAA Playoffs.  The games will be played at West Hills College in Lemoore, California.  Santiago Canyon, seeded #1 in the south, will play College of Sequioas, seeded #4 in the north.  The game will be on Friday, March 13th at 5:00pm.