PANTHERS GO FACE-TO-FACE WITH LONG BEACH IN SCC CROSSOVER

The men opened 2019 at home vs Long Beach Friday in the first of a series of South Coast Conference crossover matches.  Both teams were ranked Top 10 in the state.  At the half, the Panthers headed into the locker room down by 5 but rallied in the 2nd half often taking the lead over the visiting Vikings in the back-and-forth scoreboard battle, eventually falling 77-73.  Kehasson (Manou) Oulai again lead the Panthers with his 8th double digit score this season - 21 points, 1 steal, 8 rebounds.  Anthony (Arthur) Garcia continued to impress with his free-throw accuracy shooting 100% from the line.  Garcia is currently ranked #1 in the state with a 93.5% accuracy ranking. 

"The CHP are coming off a 13 day layoff and it showed. The Panthers shot 60% from the free throw line, 2-15 from the 3 point arc and committed way to many turnovers to beat a very athletic Long Beach City Vikings squad. Chaffey will now take on #3 in the state Cerritos College on Wednesday, Jan 11 at 6:00 PM. The Falcons will be a great challenge for the CHP. By playing the toughest schedule in the state, I believe this will help this young squad get ready for the South Coast Conference North," commented Coach Klein in his postgame recap.

The men are on the road Wednesday at Cerritos and return home Friday night to take on El Camino.