Photo by Bobby R. Hester
Photo by Bobby R. Hester

Playoff Preview: No. 12 Men’s Basketball Faces No. 5 Cerritos in Playoff Action

After rallying off four wins in the month of February and going 8-2 in their final 10 Orange Empire Conference (OEC) games, the Riverside City College men's basketball team earned the 12th seed in the southern region and is set to face off against the fifth-seeded Cerritos College Falcons in the first round of the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) playoffs.

The Tigers will hit the road to square off against the Falcons at 7 p.m. Admission to the game is $12 and $8 for all students, faculty, staff, ages 12 and under, and seniors 60 and above. Parking is available for $2 at the yellow kiosks. If you are unable to attend the contest, there will be a live stream available provided by SoCal College Sports. The stream can be found here.

The Tigers finished their season with an overall record of 16-10 that included a 7-5 conference mark. The Tigers endured a difficult schedule by playing 14 games that featured teams that were once or currently ranked in the top-20, according to the California Community College Basketball Coaches Association (CCCBCA). Five of those teams are members of the OEC consisting of Copper Mountain, Fullerton, Saddleback, Orange Coast, and Santiago Canyon.

Riverside is paced by a plethora of players. Leading the offensive charge is sophomore guard Brae Ivey (Huntington Beach, CA). Ivey is averaging 18 points-per-game in 25 games started. The sophomore leader has buried double-digit points in all but three contests this season highlighted by a 37-point showing in a victory over Saddleback. He has scored 30+ points on three different occasions and the Tigers have won each of those games. Along with his scoring strengths, Ivey has facilitated the offense by averaging 4.8 assists-per-game highlighted by an 11-assist game in a win over Irvine Valley. He has dished out two or more assists in every game and has surpassed the five assist mark 13 times.

Sophomore guard Andre Wilson (Colton, CA) follows with 16.4 points-per-game in 24 games played and has the threat of the three-ball on his side. He has been known to snap the net from downtown as he boasts a 36.2 shooting percentage from tre land. Wilson has been a consistent offensive threat by landing in double-digit scoring in all but one game he has participated. He has recorded 23-points on three separate occasions – two showings coming in consecutive conference contests.

Freshman center Jordan Robinson (Riverside, CA) runs the paint play for the Tigers as he nearly averages a double-double. He has worked to earn 14.5 points-per-game and 9.2 rebounds-per-game. Sophomore forward Kane Daniels (Blythe, CA) acts as the sharp shooter as he has earned a 43.7 shooting percentage from downtown leading to a 10.7 points-per-game mark.

Cerritos earned the fifth seed and has worked towards an overall record of 24-5 and a 9-1 conference record in the southern division of the South Coast Conference.

Sophomore guard Demetrius Thomas paces the Falcons with a 16.8 points-per-game total. He has score 20+ points in 11 games. Sophomore guard Keshaun Mack follows him with a 12.6 points-per-game clip.