'I think we are ready': Yuba College men open CCCAA Elite Eight today

Mar. 14—Believe it or not, San Diego City College is quickly becoming a rivalry of the Yuba College men's basketball team.

Not only did the 49ers play San Diego earlier this year and lost — one of Yuba College's two losses — Yuba was also eliminated by San Diego the last time it reached the California Community College Athletic Association state Elite Eight in 2018, according to Yuba assistant Ken Griffin.

Yuba College (28-2) will get a chance to exact revenge on its Southern California's rivals today (Friday) at 1 p.m. when the two lock horns in one of four Elite Eight matchups set for Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut in the beginning of the three-day CCCAA state tournament. The Final Four is scheduled for Saturday, while the men's final follows the women's championship, which is set for 1 p.m. at Mt. SAC.

Butte College, led in part by area products Jocelyn Medina (Pierce) and Karine Dhaliwal (Yuba City HS), is the No. 1 seed out of the North.

For Yuba College, it is the North's No. 3 seed, and it will take on the South's No. 2 San Diego City (26-4). Friday's matchup is likely to be much different from a health standpoint as head coach Doug Cornelius said Yuba will be essentially at full strength.

In the last matchup, Yuba lost sophomore starter Cam Niles about the first play of the 49ers' 71-69 loss to San Diego at the Grossmont Tournament in December.

"(Cam Niles) rolled his ankle on the first play," Cornelius said. "We are a little different but I'm sure they are, too."

Cornelius said the path this year has been a grind, and one he hopes has prepared his team to get a few more physical wins against the cream of the crop in California.

"It's so hard to get here," Cornelius said. "People don't understand. I have buddies that have never been to the Elite Eight. They want to win it (so) hopefully the last two playoff games will set us up."

Yuba opened with a 63-51 win at home over Skyline College in front of a packed house at the Marysville campus. Up next was a road trip to San Jose City to avenge a 2022 regular season defeat.

Yuba grinded it out over what Cornelius called a "physically tough" team, winning 68-59 to advance to the Elite Eight for the seventh time since 2004 — a run that has resulted in one state championship appearance.

While Yuba settled for runner-up in 2012, many in the community still remember the state game and how it could have gone much different.

"We hope we don't miss 19 free throws in this game," Griffin said. "It was like a slow death watching us miss free throw after free throw and losing a close game."

Griffin feels this year's Yuba's team is battle-tested, despite a weak ccnference and lower RPI rating, and can mix it up at the three-day CCCAA extravaganza.

"I think we are ready. I think it's a hungry team that is playing with a lot of confidence," Griffin said. "We're a good second-half team and I look for a real good tournament."

A win for Yuba and it plays either 30-0 West Valley, out of Saratoga, or Cerro Coso (25-6), the four-seed out of the south region, in the CCCAA Final Four at 5 p.m. Saturday.

The other Final Four, will feature two winners out of the West LA-College of the Sequoias-Cabrillo-Fullerton group, at 7 p.m. Saturday.

All games can be livestreamed by visiting https://baosn.tv/cccaa. (Account login is required). Each game is $12 according to the https://cccmbca.org.

Live stats will also be available at https://bit.ly/3VjFrBP.

Women's basketball

Butte College 84, Long Beach City College 60

Butte, the top-seed out of the north, took down LBCC Thursday to begin the women's Elite Eight.

The Roadrunners (30-1) advanced to the CCCAA Final Four to be played at 1 p.m. Saturday against the winner of Folsom Lake and Glendale.

All games can be livestreamed by visiting https://baosn.tv/cccaa. (Account login is required). Each game is $12 according to the https://cccmbca.org.