SRJC men break away late to win playoff opener

The Bear Cubs' sophomore forward had another exceptional performance to lead the Santa Rosa Junior College men's basketball team to an 88-75 win over Las Positas College in Friday night's NorCal playoff opener in Santa Rosa.

Skylar Chavez, the Bear Cubs' starting sophomore forward, was dominant all season and put up stellar numbers on a nightly basis in front of the crowds at Haehl Pavilion, averaging 27.8 points per game, shooting 52.5 percent from the floor and 39.4 percent from deep.

In the Bear Cubs' win Friday, Chavez led the way in scoring and hit his average, putting up 27 points despite fighting through double teams all night.

“(Chavez) did everything he could do. Guys were hanging on him, he made big shots, he made good passes, he played good defense, he rebounded and had a great all-around game,” Santa Rosa coach Craig McMillan said.

Santa Rosa (21-7 overall, 12-4 Big 8) ended the regular season ranked No. 12 in the state and earned the sixth seed in the California Community College Athletics Association's NorCal Regionals bracket.

It was a close game all night, but Santa Rosa guard Ryan Perez made two key plays in the final minutes to seal the win.

The Bear Cubs came out aggressive in the first half but looked a little shaky and were unable to pull away from the Livermore school despite the Hawks' early mistakes.

Midway through the first, Santa Rosa led 19-16.

But Las Positas then went on a 13-0 run for more than three minutes to take a 29-19 lead. The Bear Cubs stepped up their defense and despite the double teams, Chavez started to convert on offense - helping Santa Rosa take back the lead at halftime, up 43-39.

In the second half the game remained tightly contested before Santa Rosa started to connect from deep and was able to pull ahead slightly, with a 63-56 lead midway through the half.

The Bear Cubs continued to play tough on defense and put together good offense on the other end, but Las Positas did not let up. The game was tied 71-71 with less than five minutes remaining in regulation.

It was still tied three minutes later, but Santa Rosa's Perez hit a 3-pointer and forced a turnover on the next possession, leading to an easy layup for him and giving the Bear Cubs an 80-75 lead.

“I knew we had to get back on defense and take away the lane and I thought we did a pretty good job of that. They made it tough by running guys at Skylar and he did a good job of handling it and other guys stepped up,” McMillan said. “Ryan Perez made two huge plays when it was tied up with two minutes to go.”

As the minutes ticked down, Santa Rosa's defense shut down the Hawks' offense, hit free throws and worked the clock to walk away with the victory.

SRJC women on road against Merced on Saturday

The Bear Cubs (12-14 overall, 7-9 Big 8) will attempt to keep their season alive in a second-round playoff matchup on the road at 7 p.m. Saturday at Merced College (26-3 overall, 11-1 Central Valley).

Santa Rosa advanced to the second round after narrowly defeating Lassen Community College, 59-58, in a first-round play-in game Wednesday.

The 15th-seeded Bear Cubs last faced the second-seeded Blue Devils early in the first week of the season, back on Nov. 8, when Merced handily defeated Santa Rosa 79-52.

The Bear Cubs will have a chance at redemption Saturday. They are paced by Cardinal Newman grad Maiya Flores' 16 points per game, followed by Montgomery grad Shayla Newman's 11-point average.