Southern Regional Championships Preview: Men’s Basketball Earns Seventh Seed in Loaded Southern Bracket

For the seventh-consecutive time, the Santiago Canyon College men's basketball program has reached the 3C2A Southern Regional playoffs. They have earned a first-round bye and soar into the second round as the seventh-overall seed.

BRACKET - LIVE STATS - CAMPUS MAP - PARKING INFORMATION

The Hawks will host the winner of a first-round matchup between the 10^th-seeded Allan Hancock College Bulldogs (22-6, 10-2 WSC- North) and the 23^rd-seeded Antelope Valley College Marauders (14-14, 8-6 WSC - South) at home on Saturday, March 2 at 7 p.m.

There will be an admission charge per 3C2A rules and regulations. General admission tickets will be $12 and student, faculty, staff, fans ages 60 and over and fans ages 12 and under will be charged $8. This is a cash only event.

Head Coach Todd Dixon and the Hawks finished the regular season on a seven-game winning streak that led to an overall record of 22-6 and a conference clip of 13-3. It is the sixth time in the last seven season SCC finished with 20 or more wins under their belt entering the playoffs. They placed second in the conference standings behind top-seeded Fullerton. Top-seeded Fullerton, 19^th-seeded Irvine Valley and 20^th-seeded Saddleback make up the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) representatives.

The Hawks faced off against Antelope Valley at the Skip Robinson Tournament in mid-November. and lost a 79-74 nailbiter. They did not have a scheduled game against Allan Hancock this season.

Leading the charge for the Hawks is sophomore guard Kai Smith. Smith, who was recently named the OEC's Offensive Player of the Year, was ranked second in the conference with 17.7 points-per-game. He bagged 24 double-digit scoring games and splashed 20 or more points in 13 of those contests. He scored a season-high 33 points in a win over MiraCosta in mid-November and backed it with a 31-point showing in a win over Citrus two weeks later.

Sophomore guard Damien Parker follows with 11.6 points-per-game to land him in the top-15 in conference scoring. Despite missing six games due to injury, he has scored 10 or more points in 14 games which includes a 25-point outburst in a win over Golden West. Freshman guard Tony Colley is the third player to average double-digit scoring as he currently sits at a 10.5 points-per-game mark to round out the three-headed scoring monster.

Sophomore center Chico Lopez has been on a tear of late as he has dominated second-half play. The 6'6" Huntington Beach, CA native has landed in double-digit scoring in four of the last five games. His strongest showing came in an upset victory over conference champion Fullerton where he flushed 22 points that included a trio of three pointers.

The Hawks are an even .500 against the Southern playoff field. They defeated No. 4 Chaffey, No. 6 Citrus, and No. 24 Glendale, while splitting the season series with No. 1 Fullerton, No. 19 Irvine Valley and No. 20. Saddleback.