The SRJC men’s basketball team brought home its first state title in school history after fighting back from a second-half deficit to beat San Bernardino Valley College in Norwalk on March 16.
“It feels amazing with all the hard work we put in all season,” said Kai Drewry, who came up big in both the semi-final and final games of the California Community College Athletic Association state tournament.
A strong end to the conference earned SRJC the Big 8 title and launched the Bear Cubs into an insistent playoff run that culminated on March 16 at the state championship game.
No. 1 ranked SRJC defeated (South) No. 1 seeded SBVC 73-67—much improved from the 64-48 loss SBVC handed the Bear Cubs earlier in the season.
“I don’t know if we were the most talented or athletic,” Drewry said. “But we were the best team.” Drewry came off the bench to score 16 points against SBVC.
Seven SRJC players scored, and with them, Drewry, Corey Hammell and Darin Grayer contributed solid minutes off the bench.
The championship game was a testament of SRJC’s non-selfish style of basketball and its ability to improve during the season.
“We started getting closer,” said Matthew Hayes as he explained the Bear Cubs’ improved chemistry on the court. “We started hanging outside of practice and all that other good stuff.”
Alec Kobre lead SRJC with 17 points; center Luke Cocheran grabbed nine rebounds, blocked one shot and made all four of his attempted free throws.
Down 32-29 at the half, Kobre said the team was confident. Head coach Craig McMillan told the team if they stuck with the offense, shots were going to fall in the second half.
Drewry, Kobre and Hayes each dropped 11 points in the second half of the game. Oliver and Hayes had two and three assists, respectively.
“They’ve been really resilient,” McMillan said about his players. “Almost every team in this tournament, there was a chance where it looked like we may not win; whenever we got in that situation, someone came through.”
In the semi-final game against Chaffey College, Drewry came through.
With 38 seconds left on the clock, Chaffey tied the game on a put-back. There is a 35-second shot clock. The Bear Cubs wanted to score at the end of the shot clock to leave Chaffey with just a couple seconds.
The plan was to get the ball to Hayes, who had 20 points on the night, but the Chaffey defense denied him the ball.
The shot clock ticked down to 10 seconds while Drewry held the ball at the top, and the defense followed Hayes as he cleared out to the corner.
Cocheran set a screen for Drewry who found an opening and, “got to the rim and layed it up as the shot clock expired.”
SRJC beat Chaffey 49-47.
After losing some overtime games in the beginning of their season, the Bear Cubs knew how to keep games close and push for the win. Furthermore, the Bear Cubs’ ability to adjust in the final seconds or come back against the best team in Southern California for the state title required team communication and grit.
When asked what made this team a state champion team, captain Alec Kobre said, “Guys not really playing as individuals, just playing as a team. Something just kind of clicks and you just go with it. And that’s what happened with this team.”
Hayes, who is still eligible to play another year at SRJC, said he is still deciding on what his plans are for next year.
The Bear Cubs’ front court will lose 6’10” Luke Cocheran, 6’8” Darin Grayer and 6’5” Brian Johnson, so replacing some size is crucial for next season.
Kobre is not sure of his plans for next year but said he wants to play Division I basketball.
“The guys that have been here the longest,” Hammell said. “It really meant the most to them, because they’ve been here to start the program.”
Hammell said from what he has heard, some upcoming recruits have potential and the scouting report for next season sounds positive.
“We’ll have as much talent if not more. It just depends on how we click,” Hammell said.
