The Santa Rosa Junior College men’s basketball team (22-6) dazzled the home crowd on Sophomore Night with a three-point party against American River College (12-16), ending the game 109-60 on Friday, Feb. 21 at home.
The three sophomore guards, Yanik Anderson, Andrew Pengel and Kobe Gatti, were honored prior to tipoff.
The Bear Cubs opened the floodgates early when freshman guard Spencer Langowski matched two Beavers baskets with a three-pointer each before Pengel added two three-pointers of his own. SRJC went 20-for-30 from three-point range on the night.
After three consecutive three-pointers from the Bear Cubs, American River called a timeout to slow down the SRJC offense. The Beavers responded with two baskets before the Bear Cubs scored 11 straight points, leading 23-8 eight minutes into the game.
With 11 minutes to go in the first half, American River sophomore guard Micah Johnston finally broke through with the Beavers first three of the night, Bear Cubs freshman forward Tayden Collins immediately answered with a three. With an explosive offense
and tight defensive play, SRJC doubled up American River in the first half, 52-25.
Langowski said that the team played with fervor on Friday after a disappointing away game in Modesto earlier in the week.
“I felt we lacked confidence as a team last game and that really affected our play – whether that was going hard on defense or sprinting to spots on offense,” Langowski said. “This game, we played with a lot more confidence and a purpose.”
Langowski put up 18 points with five rebounds and four assists during Friday’s game. He is currently third in the Big 8 Conference in field goal percentage shooting 53.8% in 28 games played. He is also third in three point percentage, shooting 42.3% from beyond the arc.
SRJC stayed hot from distance in the second half, scoring more than half their points from three-point range.
With 12 minutes left in the game, Gatti subbed in for Langowski in the game and sank a three that sent the home bench into a frenzy. He recorded eight points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Standout performances from the freshman class include Collins who recorded a 17 point, 12 rebound double-double. He currently holds first place in the Big 8 for 3-point percentage at 46.9% in 22 games played, going 5-5 in Friday’s game.
“I’d say I’ll miss just how close we are and have gotten,” Pengel said, reflecting on the end of the regular season. “No one knew each other before the season and now we’ve gotten chemistry on and off the court.”
Pengel recorded 18 points with three assists and two steals. He is currently second in the Big 8 for points per game, averaging 22.6 points in 27 games played.
Following the 109-60 win, the Bear Cubs are the 6th seed in the Northern California playoffs bracket and will play host to Yuba College (21-8) at home on Saturday, March 1st at 7 p.m.
