No.1-Ranked Cypress Gets Second Billing for Playoffs

Cypress College, despite being ranked No. 1 in Southern California the past three weeks, isn’t the No. 1-seeded team for the Southern California community college men’s basketball playoffs.

Instead, the top-seeded team is Imperial Valley because of its better overall record (30-1). Cypress (27-3) is seeded second and Rancho Santiago (27-3) is third. Cypress beat Rancho Santiago twice in the Orange Empire Conference. Pairings were announced Tuesday.

Golden West (21-10), Riverside (16-15) and Orange Coast (14-13) were the other Orange Empire Conference teams to make the playoffs.

Cypress and Rancho Santiago received first-round byes and don’t play until Feb. 28. Golden West and Orange Coast play Saturday.

Golden West, the 12th-seeded team, plays host to No. 21 Long Beach (15-15). Orange Coast, the 20th-seeded team, is at No. 13 Moorpark (21-10). Both games are at 7:30 p.m.

Cypress will play the winner of Mt. San Jacinto (20-10) and Oxnard (16-14). Rancho Santiago plays the winner of Los Angeles Harbor (22-12) and College of the Desert (16-13).

The final four teams from Southern California and the final four from Northern California meet March 8-10 at UC Irvine to decide the state championship.

Crash: Early in the first half of Cypress’ 68-64 victory over Rancho Santiago Saturday, there was a collision between Cypress’ Brian Kenney and Rancho Santiago’s Vern Broadnax. The two players butted heads, sending each to the floor.

Kenney quickly returned, but Broadnax, who suffered a cut above his eye, came back with only a minute left in the second half and missed the only shot he took.

“When you lose,” Rancho Santiago Coach Dana Pagett said. “You always look at a lot of different little aspects. But I wouldn’t even think of offering it as an excuse. We had our chances and things didn’t go our way.”

Saturday’s incident ended a long week for Broadnax, a freshman guard from Tustin High School. He already was playing with a mouth piece because he lost two teeth in an accidental collision Wednesday in a game against Orange Coast.

Down and up: Irene Wright, a backup center for the Orange Coast women’s basketball team, has seen the low and the high point of the Pirate program.

Wright played last season when OCC was 8-18, and had the most losses in a season of any OCC team. She was the only returning player this season as the Pirates set a single-season victory record, going 26-5 under first-year Coach Mike Thornton.

OCC can add to the victory total tonight in the first round the the playoffs. The Pirates play host to Ventura tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Antelope Valley is at Golden West and Fullerton is at College of the Canyons in games involving other local teams.

Community College Notes

Willie Navarrette, who pitched at Rancho Santiago last season, is playing for Cal State Dominguez Hills this spring. Navarrette (12-5 last season) originally intended to play at Cal State Long Beach, but was academically ineligible. He left Long Beach, a Division I college, in favor of Dominguez Hills, a Division II school, which has lower eligibility requirements.