On Jan. 29, the San Bernardino Valley College men's basketball team reached a fork in the road.
The team had just lost to Chaffey for the second time in the 2024-25 season, and they didn't look very good doing it. The Wolverines only made 39.5 percent of their shots, and were an abysmal 5-of-37 from beyond the arc.
After the game, coach Quincy Brewer had a long talk in the locker room with his team., then told the San Bernardino Sun, "Our focus and attention to detail just wasn't there tonight on both ends and that's on me as their coach. They're good kids and are all focused on winning but we just haven't clicked yet. We've got time to figure it out though before the state tournament and I believe we can do just that."
Figure it out, they did. The Wolverines have won their last nine games, as they advanced to this weekend's 3C2A State Championship tournament at Mt. San Antonio College.
SBVC will open the tournament, featuring the four remaining teams from both the South and North regions, against West Valley College at 5 p.m. Thursday. It is the third time in four seasons that the Wolverines have reached the State Championships.
West Valley comes into the tournament as the No. 2 seed from the North region, carrying a record of 27-3. Two of those losses were to the North's No. 1-seeded City College of San Francisco. The Vikings come in on a 15-game winning streak.
The Vikings have used a strong defense to make their way to this round, allowing opponents an average of 61.2 points per game, while scoring 79.4 points per game on offense. They have four players who average in double digits points per game, led by sophomore guard Jake Davis, who averaged 15 points per game this season, but scored a career-high 31 in West Valley's regional final victory over Skyline College.
SBVC will continue to look to its pressure defense to create turnovers and easy baskets against the Vikings. That defense was a big reason the Wolverines averaged 95.3 points per game this season – the third highest total in the state this season.
The Wolverines feature five players who averaged in double figures this season, led by Darius Carr, who is eighth in the state averaging 22.8 points per game. Small forward Khemanni Davis is next on the team with 13.7 points per game, with Jason Hilliard close behind at 13.5 per game. And the two players who share duties running the point, Jason Lee (11.2 points, 6.8 assists) and Shadale Knight (10.9 points, 6.7 assists) can score and pass out the dimes.
Tickets for the game are $12 for general admission and $10 for seniors, children, and students with school ID. Parking at Mt. SAC is $5. The games at the state tournament can be streamed online at www.baosn.tv/cccaa, at a cost of $12 per day.
