As raindrops fell outside, 3-pointers poured from the rafters inside Haehl Pavilion. Eight out of the 11 Bear Cubs splashed down a combined 51 points from behind the arc and sent the Modesto Junior College Pirates home in an 87-75 victory on Feb. 7.
No. 11 Santa Rosa Junior College men’s basketball team [18-7, 9-2] scored 58 percent of its points against the Pirates [4-19, 0-11] from three-point range with a total of 17 made from long-distance.
The game raised money for the benefit of “Coaches vs. Cancer,” selling bright pink t-shirts that the Bear Cubs were sporting on the sideline.
Despite the first place versus last place matchup, the Bear Cubs came ready to play and showed aggressive play on both sides of the ball.
SRJC quickly took hold of the game and brought the lead up to double-digits. The biggest lead of the first half was 18. The lead remained in double-digits until the end of the first half with the half-time score 41-31.
As the second half kicked off, the Bear Cubs lost their double-digit lead and the game grew closer with just a six-point lead for most of the first 10 minutes of the half.
The Bear Cubs quickly moved into an isolation offense and took turns picking apart the Pirates’ defense. First-year student guard’s Justin Frazier and Cetrick Yeanay, and sophomore guard Kiel Long all hit two 3-pointers to bring the lead back to double digits toward the end of the game.
With 1:08 left in the game, sophomore guard Alex Mostafavi hit a 3-pointer, the so-called “cherry on top” of the game, ending the 84-75 victory.
Although the Bear Cubs played a great game, head coach Craig McMillan comments on some things that he would like to see improved.
“I thought we shot the ball very well, executed offensively, but maybe tighten up our defense a little bit,” said McMillan.
When asked what he would like to see coming into the next game against San Joaquin Delta College [14-10, 7-4], one of two teams that the Bear Cubs lost to in the Big 8, McMillan said:
“They have very good one-on-one scorers and very good penetrators. We need to do a better job containing the drives and keeping the ball out of the lane area.”
SRJC plays its last home game of the regular season against San Joaquin Delta College at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 10 in Haehl Pavilion.
