With yet another Bay Valley Conference championship in their back pocket, and a former National Championship coach in the building, the Yuba College Men’s Basketball team entered their home gym on Friday the 18th to face Mendocino in the finals of the Bay Valley Conference Tournament, with a chance at a guaranteedentrance into the State Championship Tournament on the line.
Hoping for a big game from his whole team, Coach Doug Cornelius got exactly what he wanted. Julian Welch dropped 30 points while Anto Olah contributed another 19 as four 49ers finished in double figures as they beat Mendocino 109-92. University of Minnesota Coach Tubby Smith was in attendance scouting a number of Yuba players, including Welch, who finished with a big game in front of a large crowd.
Mendocino kept things even for most of the first half, but things blew open and Yuba lead 54-33 at the half. They came back in the second, spurred on by Sophomore Guard Marcus DuBose, who led Mendocino with 24 points, while fellow Guard Brian Cummings finished with 17. Welch however, was the big difference down the stretch, hitting three 3-pointers and 11 of 12 from the free-throw line.
With the win, the Niners ended up with a #6 seed in the State Championship tournament, which kicks off tonight at 7:00, as the Niners host Las Positas in the first round of the championship tournament. Tickets at the door are $8 general admission, $5 for seniors and students with a valid Yuba College ID card.
Chris Carpenter is the Print Editor for The Prospector, and is a full-time student at Yuba College, majoring in Mass Communications. Outside of the newspaper, he is an avid writer, and watches tons of Japanese wrestling (and CHIKARA, the US equivalent of Lucha Libre). He can be followed on Twitter at twitter.com/antonio_DAMAN.
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