February 25, 2020
Santa Monica, CA
For the second consecutive season the Santa Monica College Men's Basketball team has qualified for the Southern California Regional playoffs. The Corsairs, led by Head Coach Joshua Thomas were awarded the #4 seed overall and will host the winner of #13 Chaffey College and #20 seed Irvine Valley College Feb 28, 2020 at 7pm at West LA College. (The game has been moved to West LA College as SMC is hosting the Olympic Trials for Table Tennis this week in the Pavillion).
"We are excited about our game on Saturday. We hope to have a great turn-out from Corsair fans at West LA College." stated Coach Thomas. "Last season, we were 17-11 after the regular season and were seeded as the 12th seed. This year, we are 20-8 going into the playoffs and are seeding at #4 and that includes a first round bye. That is a big difference. We get more time to practice and prepare for our next opponent and that is certainly a luxury. I am happy with the seeding. It is nice for the team to be rewarded for their hard work and overall performance. We played a very tough schedule. Out of our 28-game schedule, 19 of those games were played against teams that are seeded in the playoffs this year."
Coach Thomas has a number of talented players who helped the Corsairs to a very successful season. "We have a host of players on this team that contribute. Freshman Elias King led us in scoring at 14.2ppg, Sophomore Isaiah Simpson led us in rebounding (8.5) and blocks (1.1), Sophomore Cesar Meza led us in assists (3.8), Sophomore Teddy Parham led us in steals (1.8), Sophomore LeAndrew Knight led us with 55.5% FG, and Sophomore Amitai Afenjar led us with 50% 3FG."
The Corsairs will have to wait for the first round to conclude to know their opponents in the second round of play. "We will face either Chaffey College or Irvine College. Both teams are well coached and tough teams to face. We look forward to the challenge of playing either team."