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Posted: Feb 07, 2023

Men's Basketball SCC Races Heat Up

East LA's JT Langston towers over Pasadena's Jonthan Tchengang in a recent SCC game (photo by Michael Watkins).
East LA's JT Langston towers over Pasadena's Jonthan Tchengang in a recent SCC game (photo by Michael Watkins).

While East Los Angeles College in the North and Los Angeles Harbor in the South lead their respective divisions, the South Coast Conference men's basketball races are close with a few other teams in the thick of it going down the stretch.

Ranked #7 in the latest state coaches poll, Harbor (20-4) saw its 7-game win streak snapped in an upset loss to Long Beach City, 81-65, on Feb. 3. The Seahawks continue to lead the SCC South Division at 5-1, but now have both #19 Cerritos and unranked LA Southwest right behind them with 4-2 division marks. LAHC will be tested at Cerritos on Feb. 10 and then in the conference final on Feb. 17 v. LASW. The Falcons went down to the wire in losing to Harbor in their first meeting, 86-85, while LA Southwest kept it close before losing 78-73 to the Seahawks on Feb. 1.

As of Feb. 7, #8-ranked ELAC is 20-3 overall and took over sole possession of the SCC North Division lead (now 5-0) by defeating upstart #13-ranked Pasadena City, 83-73, on Feb. 1. The Huskies stopped the red-hot Lancers (18-7 overall) win streak at 11 games, but PCC continues to stay on their heels with a victory over LA Trade-Tech on Feb. 3 to improve its division record to 4-1. All eyes point to what could be a game that decides the title (ELAC outright with a win, PCC trying to earn a share the crown) when the two face-off on Feb. 17 at PCC.

During conference crossover play, Pasadena shocked the basketball world in upsetting Harbor, 69-67, on Jan. 6 thanks to a 3-pointer, and then three free throws by Shant Chenorhavorian with 0.5 of a second left. Harbor responded by knocking off East LA, 76-64, on Jan. 11 behind a combined 51 points and 24 rebounds by Demetrius Douglas and Louis Walker. 

One of the more controversial finishes occured on Feb. 1 when Long Beach's Shane Hunter sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat Compton, 73-72. The shot counted but a camera angle appeared to show the ball still in Hunter's hand as the game clock hit 0:00. 

Harbor's Walker is an All-State candidate as he is fourth in the state in scoring (24.1 points average) and third in both rebounds (13.8 average) and field goal percentage (67 percent efficiency). LA Southwest's Koron Davis is third in California in scoring at 24.3 points and Harbor's Douglas is ninth (21.5). PCC's Jayden Winfrey is third in the state in assists (6.3 average), LA Trade-Tech's Brandon Sanders third in blocks (2.6 per game), and Compton's Denzil Okoli second in steals (2.8).

Release by Robert Lewis, SCC SID