Mt. SAC, Cerritos Capture SCC Men's Basketball Titles, All-Conference Teams Selected
Mt. San Antonio College, the state's current #4 ranked team, and Cerritos, #30 rated, each are peaking for postseason play after they won the respective South Coast Conference men's basketball championships in 2023-24.
The Mounties went 9-1 to win the SCC North Division title, ending East Los Angeles reign of seven straight championships and the last five solo. Mt. SAC (25-3 overall) won its first title since 2016 when it tied ELAC for the crown and its first title by itself since 2015. It's the program's 12th title in conference history.
The Mounties only hiccup was losing at Pasadena City, 83-76, on Feb. 16. Unranked PCC and state #22-ranked East LA tied for second place in the SCC North with 7-3 marks.
After starting the regular season at 3-6, Cerritos truly caught fire in a perfect 10-0 trip to win its 28th SCC crown and first SCC South Division solo crown since 2018. The Falcons (19-9) missed out last season but had shared the South title in 2019, 2020 and 2022. They enter the postseason on a 12-game winning streak overall.
State #28-ranked LA Southwest (18-10) settled for a second place tie with last year's South champ LA Harbor (11-17), both at 6-4 in divisional contests.
BREAKING NEWS: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SEEDINGS ANNOUNCED TODAY:
Mt. San Antonio earned the #3 seed as the SCC earned 25 percent of the overall 24 seeds for the start of the SoCal Regional Playoffs.
After Mt. SAC, East LA took the #12 seed followed by Pasadena at #15, Cerritos #16, LA Southwest #18, and LA Trade-Tech at #22.
The 2023-24 All-South Coast Conference teams were selected on Saturday by the head coaches.
The SCC North Player of the Year is Mt. SAC's Nick Hopkins and the Coach of the Year is the Mounties' HC Michael Fenison. The SCC South Player of the Year is Cerritos' Miles Ceballos with Falcons HC Russ May named Coach of the Year. Ceballos is the son of former NBA All-Star player Cedric Ceballos.
ALL-SOUTH COAST CONFERENCE 2023-24 MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAMS
NORTH DIVISION
PLAYER OF THE YEAR-Nick Hopkins, Mt. San Antonio, 6-foot-5, So. Guard
Led SCC 20.8 points average; 9.5 rebounds; led SCC in Field Goal Percentage, 58.1, led state in overall Free Throws with 209 (288 attempts, 72.6)
COACH OF THE YEAR--Michael Fenison, Mt. San Antonio, 9-1, champions
FIRST TEAM
CJ Fisher, Mt. San Antonio, 6-7 So. Guard, 11.3 pts, 7.3 reb
Mikah Gardner, Mt. San Antonio, 6-4 So. Guard, 9.6 pts
Deen Abdur-Rahmann, Pasadena City, 6-4 So. Guard, 12.9 pts, 4.9 reb, 58 3-point baskets
Myles Watkins, Pasadena City, 6-2 So. Wing, 17.9 pts, 4.7 reb, 2.6 assists
Dylan Godfrey, East Los Angeles, 6-8 Fr. Forward, 11.1 pts, 4.6 reb
Daniel Michelini-Jackson, East Los Angeles, 6-5 Fr. Guard, 16.2 pts, 5.6 reb, led SCC in Free Throw Percentage, 89.8 (2nd in state)
Brandon Wilson, East Los Angeles, 6-6 So. Guard, 11.5 pts, 5.7 reb
Omari Ferguson, LA Trade-Tech, 6-3 So. Guard, 17.2 pts, 5.5 reb, 3.2 ast
Devon Jainlett, LA Trade-Tech, 6-7 So. Forward, 11.2 pts, 4.9 reb
Chasen Stewart, Los Angeles City, 6-4 So. Guard, 14.7 pts, 7.8 reb, 2.9 ast
Honorable Mention: Jon McCullough, Jeremiyah Smith, Mt. San Antonio; Shant Chenorhavorian, Dylan Swillis, Pasadena City; Gregory Melvin, East Los Angeles; Jonathan Fields, Jerome Smith LA Trade-Tech; Luke Olmstead, Los Angeles City; Bilal Mike, Rio Hondo.
SOUTH DIVISION
PLAYER OF THE YEAR-Miles Ceballos, Cerritos, 6-3 So. Guard
9.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists,
COACH OF THE YEAR--Russ May, Cerritos, 10-0, champions
FIRST TEAM
Dillon Botts, Cerritos, 6-0 Fr. Guard, 6-0 Fr. Guard, 9.6 pts
Everett May, Cerritos, 6-6 So. Guard-Forward, 10.5 pts, 53 3-point baskets
Joel Baez, LA Southwest, 6-4 So. Point Guard, 12.5 pts, 3.3 ast
Justin Haynes, LA Southwest, 6-6 So. Forward, 7.3 pts, led SCC 11.9 reb
Omarion Shackelford, LA Southwest, 6-5 So. Guard, 16 pts, 2.6 ast
Marques Calcote, LA Harbor, 6-0 Point Guard, 11.4 pts, 2.4 ast
Brandon Cerda, Long Beach City, 6-0 So. Guard, 19 pts, 4.5 ast
Franklyn Chambers, Long Beach City, 6-1 Fr. Guard, 17.7 pts, 4.4 reb, 2.9 ast
Jake TenBerge, Compton, 6-6 So. Guard-Forward, 15.9 pts, 7 reb, 2.5 ast
Billy Ray Barnes III, El Camino, 6-2 So. Guard, 17 pts, 5.1 reb, 3.4 ast
Honorable Mention: Darron Henry, Cameron McCoy, Cerritos; Jontue Cooper, Malvin Payero, Compton; Timothy Lofton, Elia Mageo, LA Harbor; Kason White, Long Beach City; Shamar Carter, El Camino