Men’s Basketball Sweeps Cypress Series to Bag Sixth-Straight Win

The Santiago Canyon College men's basketball team put its five game winning streak to the test on Wednesday night as they hosted the Cypress College Chargers on home hardwood. The Hawks found themselves in a battle, but a strong second half surge provided the distance they needed leading to a 75-60 victory.

The Chargers pulled to within four points of the lead just five minutes into the second half. However, a 11-0 Santiago Canyon run axed any hopes for a Charger's comeback.

After a slight scoring drought, sophomore guard Damien Parker gave his team a jolt by converting a tough and-one play after fighting through the paint for a layup. He promptly drained the free throw that followed the bucket. Two possessions later, a technical foul called on the Chargers sent Parker back to the line where he hit another free throw, backed by a triple from freshman guard Eli Arthurton on the ensuing possession.

Sophomore guard Kai Smith and freshman guard Trevor Manning came through with buckets on two consecutive possessions to force a Cypress timeout and give the Hawks a confortable 52-37 advantage.

From then on, it was all SCC.

Cypress continued to chip away, but consecutive three balls from Manning sealed the deal leading to the 15-point triumph.

Sophomore center Chico Lopez and Manning shared the top scoring marks by each flushing 18 points. Manning flirted with a double-double after hauling in seven boards, while Lopez raked in four rebounds and dished out a pair of assists.

Smith finished with 14 points and two assists, while E. Arthurton recorded 10 points off the bench that included a pair of three pointers.

The entire roster saw some playing time highlighted by an emphatic slam from sophomore guard Dane Kiefer in the ladder stages of the game to hammer the final nail in the Charger's coffin.

Santiago Canyon thrived from long range as they recorded a 31 percent clip from beyond the arc. They outrebounded the Chargers 32-22 and forced 14 turnovers that transformed into 24 points.