Local College Roundup: Surprising Pirates sweep Mendocino tournament
Not much was expected from the Modesto Junior College Pirates at Mendocino’s eight-team John Hogue Memorial Tournament.
Not only were the Pirates 0-3, they were further weakened by the illness absence of sophomore guard Zack Gonzales.
Go figure the Pirates, who swept all three games for the tournament title. Freshman guard Mason Washington, the tournament MVP, finished a top-tier performance by scoring 35 points during MJC’s 70-65 win over Big 8 Conference rival Cosumnes River in Saturday night’s final.
“To start 0-3 and lose Zack, and to improve this much in one week of practice, shows what this team is made of,” MJC coach Paul Brogan praised. “We held three teams in the 60s. We couldn’t guard anyone during the first three games.”
Washington netted all 12 free throws against Cosumnes River, the 2015 Big 8 champion, as MJC (3-3) made 22 of 28 from the line. Tied 24-24 at half, Modesto nursed a lead late in the game. Brennan Pope’s two free throws with eight seconds left increased the lead to five points.
Brandon Moss also helped with 14 points. Sophomore Joe Hamilton joined Washington on the all-tournament team. The Pirates defeated Las Positas 75-64 and Lassen 86-64 to reach the final.
“It was an important weekend for us,” Brogan said. “We needed it for our confidence.”
Unsuccessful home opener – Cal State Stanislaus let a 10-point lead slip away in a 70-66 loss to Dominican in the Warriors’ home opener Saturday night. The Penguins (2-2) used a 13-2 rally to erase the deficit, then out-scored Stanislaus 9-5 in the final two-plus minutes.
To start 0-3 and lose Zack (Gonzales), and to improve this much in one week of practice, shows what this team is made of
MJC men’s basketball coach Paul Brogan
Alek Carlsen paced the Warriors (1-1) with a career-high 16 points. Christian Bayne and Kyi Thomas had 10 points apiece.
Warriors dominate boards – The Stanislaus women parlayed a 61-35 rebounding advantage into a 62-47 win over Notre Dame de Namur on Saturday afternoon at Belmont. The Warriors (2-2) built their lead to 25 points in the second half after a jumper by Camille Roberts.
Jasmine Washington paced Stanislaus with 11 points and eight rebounds. Erika Larsen also had eight rebounds.
The Warriors will entertain Holy Names in their home opener on Sunday, Nov. 29.
Fast start by Simpkins – MJC freshman Akaysha Simpkins is off and running. She’s averaging 18.7 points and 7.3 blocked shots per game, both tops in California, for the 1-5 Pirates.
Soccer
Pirates rally to first-round win – Jenna Viss scored a hat trick as the Pirates rallied from a 3-2 halftime deficit to defeat Las Positas 6-3 in the opening round of the NorCal playoffs Saturday at the MJC West Campus field.
Yaritza Arista totaled two goals for Modesto (16-4-2) and Harleen Pabla also scored. Andrea Zaragoza had two assists, and Viss, Arista and Jessica Jauregui each had one.
The Pirates, seeded fourth, will remain at home to meet fifth-seeded City College of San Francisco on Tuesday at 2 p.m. The Rams advanced by beating Diablo Valley 3-0.
This story was originally published November 22, 2015 at 7:02 AM with the headline "Local College Roundup: Surprising Pirates sweep Mendocino tournament."