SBVC (16-2) made the 240 mile trek north to the scenic town of Visalia for the Kirby Mannon Pepsi/Wyndham Tournament, taking home the Championship and MVP trophies.

SBVC opened up the tournament with a familiar foe, the Pasadena City Lancers (3-7). The Lancers would take a 6-5 lead over SBVC early in the first half, then SBVC sophomore guard Perris Hicks (Pasadena H.S.) hit a three-pointer to get back the lead and SBVC would never trail again. SBVC would take a 27-18 lead at the break. SBVC opened up the second half with a 13-3 run and that put the game out of reach for the Lancers, giving SBVC the victory 68-46.

Hicks led all scorers with 16 points on 5 of 9 shooting and was 3 of 4 from the free throw line and sophomore guard Zack Rollins (Westchester (NY) Pelham Memorial) added 10 points on 4 of 8 shooting. Sophomore center Trey Edwards (Mansfield (TX) Legacy) came off of the bench to contribute 14 points and was a perfect 5 for 5 from the field, freshman guard Ja Morgan (Las Vegas (NV) Palo Verde) led SBVC in assists with eight, sophomore forward Dock Gooch (Etiwanda H.S.) led the team with three blocks and sophomore center Steven Adams (Pasadena H.S.) added 10 boards in the win.

On the winner's side of the bracket, SBVC faced off with the Oxnard Condors (5-5), who also took an early lead 9-7, but sophomore forward JaCardo Hawkins (Gonzales (LA) East Ascension) would tie the game at the free throw line and then moments later freshman forward Brandon Jolley (Pasadena H.S.) gave SBVC the lead for good, again, at the free throw line. SBVC took a 44-31 lead into halftime, then SBVC used a 9-1 run to open the second half to put some distance between themselves and the Condors, giving SBVC the victory 90-64.

Hawkins and Jolley led the team with 16 points, Hawkins missing a double-double by one board and Jolley going 10 for 11 from the charity stripe. Jolley would also toss out four assists and grab two blocked shots. Hicks had 15 points on 5 of 9 shooting and four assists and freshman guard Robert Lewis (Compton H.S.) added 11 points on 4 of 12 shooting.

Morgan contributed 12 points off of the bench on 5 of 9 shooting, tossing out four assists and taking two steals and Edwards collected 11 boards in the win.

In the championship final, SBVC met up with the host College of the Sequoias Giants (10-6), the game was a back-and-forth contest throughout most of the first half, as the game was tied at 17-17 with 4:15 remaining. Then Jolley gave SBVC the lead for good on a diving layup, and SBVC would take a 29-21 lead into the halftime break. The Giants were not going to go away, and SBVC had their hands full the reminder of the game. But as much as the Giants pushed, they could never get any closer than 10 points at any point during the second half and SBVC took the game, 72-62.

Jolley led all scorers with 20 points, going 6 of 10 from the field and was a perfect 8 for 8 from the free throw line, also leading the team in steals with three. Hawkins was named Tournament MVP adding 18 points on 9 of 13 shooting, grabbing nine boards and blocking four shots. Lewis had his first double-double of the season with 15 points on 5 of 10 shooting and 10 total boards and Hicks was named All-Tournament adding 11 points on 5 of 14 shooting and 5 assists in the win.

Photo by Wade Byars.
Information, Photos & Story provided by SBVC Sports Information.