‘Must-Win’ Games give Eagle Men Momentum for Playoffs

The Eagle men's basketball team wasn't a pre-season favorite for the 2023 California Community College playoffs. But they finished the regular season with a 16-12 record, earned the No. 23 spot in the NorCal Regionals and are scheduled to play at No. 10 Los Medanos (21-7) Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Head coach Kyle Heath took the team out to lunch after he got a text Sunday from old friend Billy Offill, a member of the playoff committee, saying the Eagles were in.

Their final regular season game, a 92-68 win last Wednesday at Feather River, was crucial. Heath noted that a few NorCal teams with better records than the Eagles, including Sacramento City, didn't get a spot on the bracket, which expanded this year to 24 teams. Sacramento City finished 17-11, but one of their losses was to the Eagles, 80-73, in early December in Sacramento.

The Eagles lost to Los Medanos twice in the preseason, but they were in both games, falling 103-92 in their season-opener in a tournament at Las Positas and 78-77 in mid-November at the Mendocino Tournament. Playing Los Medanos for a third time, "anything can happen," said Heath. "They're a solid team and they'll be pressing us."

Taking a team to the postseason for the first time since 2014, Heath said the Eagles will have some momentum after winning their last two "must-win" games and scoring more than 90 points in both. "We'll need to handle the pressure and make plays and do what we've done all season: share the ball, play hard, convert a high percentage of possessions, play hard defense, take charges, box out – and just out-work people."

Heath said he's excited for his players, who "sacrificed a lot" during long weeks and months of practice and have stuck together through many ups and downs. "They don't get too high or too low. Fourteen of our 17 guys have GPAs over 3.0 and the others are about 2.9. They help in the community, too. It's a family-type deal."

The three Eagle players who are in their third season because of the pandemic year – Cade Ealy, Zane Lueth and Will Dobson – "laid the foundation," Heath said. Lueth and Ealy started all 28 games and were the team's top two rebounders. Ealy is third among Golden Valley Conference rebounders (9.5 per game) and fourth in assists (3.9). Lueth is fourth in field goal percentage (49.8) and sixth in free throw percentage (76.6). Dobson is second in three-point percentage (41.2).

The Eagles' leading scorer is freshman point guard Dylan Neufeld, who is fourth among GVC players with 15 points per game and second in free throw percentage (83). He scored 29 points in last week's win at Feather River while hitting 6 of his 10 three-point tries and dishing a team-high 6 assists.

Another freshman, Cole Bernius, scored 17 points with 9 rebounds. Lueth had 15 points and 7 rebounds, freshman Josh Allen scored 12 on 6 of 9 shooting, and Ealy had 5 points and 10 rebounds.

The Eagles led 35-30 at the half, then really got it going to outscore Feather River 57-38 in the second half. Siskiyous finished 5-5 in league, behind Redwoods (9-1) and Butte (6-4) and ahead of Feather River, Lassen, and Shasta.

Neufeld and sophomore Braeden Watts started 27 of the Eagles' 28 games and are ranked seventh and eighth among GVC players in three-point shooting percentage, both over 36 percent. Bernius started 26 games and is the team's third-leading rebounder with 4.8 per game, while ranking seventh among GVC players with a 48.4 field goal percentage.

Another team strength is consistent scoring from numerous sources. While Neufeld leads the way with 420 points, Lueth has scored 273, Ealy 237, Bernius 233, Watts 229, Dobson 197, freshman Nick Dore 180, and freshman Landon Ellis 130.

Heath notes that with the new sports banners the college is putting up in the gym, "If you make the playoffs, it's for life. It's special. I'm happy to be part of it… It's hard at this level. It's nice to see their work pay off."

The winner of the Siskiyous-Los Medanos game will advance to play at No. 7 Chabot (20-8) on Saturday. GVC champion Redwoods (25-3) is the No. 6 NorCal seed and has a first round bye. Butte (14-13) is seeded 17^th and will open at Ohlone (18-10). The winner of that game will advance to face No. 1 City College of San Francisco (25-3).

By Steve Gerace