College Roundup: MJC men capture Ohlone tournament title
The Modesto Junior College men’s basketball team has made a major early-season statement.
The Pirates (4-2), featuring a virtually new roster under first-year coach Mike Girardi, won Ohlone College’s John Wallace Memorial Tournament with an 88-83 overtime victory over the previously unbeaten host team.
Freshman Jaron Dickson sent the game into overtime with a driving eight-footer in traffic with 16 seconds left. Josh Allen led Modesto with 32 points, Jemeil King had 28 and Kevin Howland added 15. Allen scored five points during the extra period, Sayveon Tyson contributed an important three-pointer and Howland scored a critical tip-in.
Modesto trailed 44-32 at halftime but rallied to hand Ohlone its first loss in six games.
Dickson was named the tournament MVP and King was selected to the all-tournament team. The Pirates reached the final by defeating Canada 95-90 and Contra Costa 94-89 in overtime. Dickson also scored in the final seconds to force overtime against Contra Costa.
“This was a great accomplishment for this brand new team to achieve a championship on a highly ranked opponent’s home court this early in the season,” Girardi said.
Modesto will defend its title at Mendocino’s eight-team John Hogue Memorial beginning Thursday against Lassen at 6 p.m.
Warrior men start 0-2 – Cal State Stanislaus’ Kaelen Mitchell, a 6-foot-6 junior transfer from Grossmont Community College, was named to the all-tournament team of San Francisco State’s Tip-Off Classic. His play highlighted the Warriors’ 0-2 performance.
Stanislaus lost 60-58 in the final seconds to Dominican in the opener despite Mitchell’s 17 points. Mitchell hit a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left to tie the score.
The Warriors fell 88-85 in overtime to Academy of Art on Saturday. Mitchell again led Stanislaus with 21 points, while Richard Medina hit a career-high six triples en route to 18 points. Academy of Art connected on 4 of 5 shots in the overtime.
Stanislaus meets CCAA foe Cal State Dominguez Hills in a nonleague game Saturday at 4 p.m. at Fitzpatrick Arena.
Warrior women at Portland – Stanislaus State went 0-2 at the CCAA/GNAC Challenge, falling to Central Washington 74-58 and Concordia 70-52, in Portland, Ore.
Senior guard Reana Hardin scored 18 points, two shy of her career high, against Concordia. The Warriors shot only 32 percent from the floor and hit only 6 of 23 from beyond the arc.
Stanislaus comes home for games against Academy of Art on Wednesday and Notre Dame de Namur on Friday. Both games begin at 5:30 p.m. at Fitzpatrick Arena.
A fast finish by the Cal State Stanislaus volleyball team has vaulted the Warriors into third place and a berth in the California Collegiate Athletic Association tournament.
The Warriors swept to a regular-season-ending victory at Cal State Dominguez Hills, 25-19, 25-12, 25-21, on Saturday. The day before, Stanislaus dominated at Cal State Los Angeles, 25-20, 25-21, 25-20.
MJC women third at Las Positas – The Pirates (3-1) capped the Las Positas tournament in Livermore with a 78-49 win over Compton for third place. Modesto opened by beating Contra Costa 64-56, then lost to Cuesta 75-35. Rashonne Founts paced MJC in the semifinal with 14 points.
Claim Jumpers get first win – Columbia College (1-2) went on the road to earn its first win, 69-60 over West Valley.
Volleyball
Warriors advance to CCAA tournament – Stanislaus State (13-14, 10-8) brings momentum into the CCAA tournament for the second straight year. The Warriors, who placed third in the CCAA’s North Division, will face UC San Diego, the No. 2 team in the South Division, on Thursday at Cal State San Bernardino. Stanislaus defeated UC San Diego on Senior Night last week.
Outside hitters Blair Ehrlich and Jocelyn Cervantes dominated Dominguez Hills’ defense, as Ehrlich totaled 15 kills and Cervantes 10. Cervantes also played well in the back row with 15 digs, followed by Maddi Seidl with 14 and Ehrlich with 11.
Pirates end season – MJC (6-18, 3-13) won its final home match, 25-17, 25-17, 25-19 over Santa Rosa, as Ryce Stoutenborough led with eight kills. Libero Brooke Finnegan, Jerricka Lindsey and Monica Perez starred this season for MJC.
“We were competitive on most nights, even though five of the top 20 teams in the state come from our conference,” first-year coach Brenda Moser said. “We only had nine on our roster, but we played hard every night.”
Golf
Pirates fourth after first round at state – MJC, led by Janita Vongphoumy with a 78 and Alyse Padilla with a 79, totaled a 324 team score to sit fourth after day one of the CCCAA Women’s State Championship in Morro Bay. Brooke Vierra fired an 83 and Piper Rockwell an 84. Also, Shawna Ratto shot a 91 and Dylanie Donahue a 92.
The Pirates head into the second and final round trailing host Santa Barba (312), Cuyamaca (318) and Big 8 Conference rival Sierra (319).
On Nov. 8, Vongphoumy placed fifth at the NorCal Regional at Butte Country Club in Chico. She shot 78 and 82. Vierra (78-84) finished sixth, ahead of teammates Padilla (84-83) and Donahue (89-79), as MJC finished as the runner-up behind Big 8 champion Sierra.
Wrestling
MJC loses at Chabot – The Pirates (4-5, 2-2) lost 27-21 at Chabot in Coast Conference action despite pins by Noor Kathem (174) and Justin Nieves (165). The conference tournament will be held Saturday at Hayward.
This story was originally published November 13, 2016 at 5:29 PM with the headline "College Roundup: MJC men capture Ohlone tournament title."