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Rams advance to CCCAA State Finals with big win over Cabrillo

MEN’S BASKETBALL 

 

By Patrick Cochran

pcochran@theguardsman.com

 

The City College of San Francisco men’s basketball team beat Cabrillo College Saturday night, winning its semi-final playoff game 77-60. The Rams now advance to the CCCAA State Finals in Ventura, played March 8-11.

“I was excited, I thought our guys came to play,” Head Coach Justin Labagh said. “We wanted to control the tempo and we did.”

The Rams applied their full court press and stifled the Cabrillo offense where they struggled to find an offensive rhythm and made costly turnovers.  

The No. 1 Rams physically outmatched their opponents with a full-court press that was so effective that Cabrillo was unable to advance the ball past half court multiple times, and was called for 10-second violations.

Brown was magnificent on offense, leading the Rams in scoring with 19 points, making five threes. “We love playing up,” said Terrell Brown. “When we play up, it’s straight turnovers all game. If we defend, we are going to win the game.”

A quick player who can blow past defenders, Brown was unguardable at times and provided the catalyst the Rams needed to win the game. Brown can drive to the hoop and drain threes and is the heart of the Ram offense.

“He is the best player in the state,” Labagh said. “And those types of players usually show up in big games.”

The Ram’s deep bench made it impossible for Cabrillo to keep up. Labagh constantly runs in makes substitutions, and the second unit is nearly as talented as the starters. Backup guard Dexter Hood scored seven points while reserve forward Lewis Hayes chipped in eight points.

Despite being teammates at CCSF for just two years at the most, these Rams have great chemistry.

“With us it’s like playing AAU basketball all over again. It’s fun,” Michael Wright said.

Wright had 12 points and a late-game two-handed dunk that provided the exclamation point on the win.

The Rams have now won 26 straight games, and have a 30-1 record with their last loss coming in November. The mostly sophomore group hopes to win it all, unlike last year when they fell in the semi-finals.

“We got all the pieces we need. Everybody is clicking and paying attention,” Wright said.

For Labagh the win was a culmination of where they planned to be at the end of the season.

“We just wanted to put ourselves in the right position, and we’ve done that,” he said.

The Rams are in it to win it and have no plans of falling short.

“We are going to finish out the run, that has been our goal and we are going to do it,” Wright said.

The Rams freshman guard Terrell Brown (#33) breaks free for the two-handed slam dunk during March 3, 2018 game against Cabrillo College. Photo by James Comfort/Special to The Guardsman.
The Rams freshman guard Terrell Brown (#33) breaks free for the two-handed slam dunk during March 3, 2018 game against Cabrillo College. Photo by James Comfort/Special to The Guardsman.

 

The Rams sophomore guard Eddie Stansberry (#11) goes up for the one-handed layup against Cabrillo College on March 3, 2018. Photo by James Comfort/Special to The Guardsman.
The Rams sophomore guard Eddie Stansberry (#11) goes up for the one-handed layup against Cabrillo College on March 3, 2018. Photo by James Comfort/Special to The Guardsman.
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