The season has officially reached the halfway point as men's basketball teams from the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference will start conference play on Friday night. Both divisions are gearing up for battles to see who will be crowned champions.
PCAC NORTH
The Pacific Coast Athletic Conference North Division appears to be a free for all, with all but one team heading into conference play at .500-or-better. Mt. San Jacinto College and San Bernardino Valley College would seem to be the favorites as both appear in the top-15 of the latest California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches Association Poll, with MSJC coming in at No. 4 in the latest state rankings and SBVC at No. 13. However, a handful of other teams are going to make it tough on both of those squads as San Diego Miramar College, College of the Desert and MiraCosta College are all rated in the top-50 in the latest Massey Ratings. SD Miramar has the No. 33 power rankings in the state while Desert is No. 41 and MiraCosta No. 46.
Mt. San Jacinto is 15-2 heading into conference play with its only losses coming against top-ranked Fullerton College (18-1) and PCAC South favorite Southwestern College (14-4). The Eagles are No. 2 in the state in scoring, averaging 89.1 points-per-game. They are led by the dynamic sophomore duo of David Thompson (16.1 ppg) and Deshawn Millington (15.4 ppg) while freshman Luka Filipovic (8.1 rpg) has been a dominating force inside. MSJC will open PCAC play at MiraCosta on Friday night at 5:00 PM.
San Bernardino Valley is 13-5 and heading into the PCAC opener on a roll, winning its last six contests. The Wolverines are also one of the top scoring teams in the state (85.9 ppg), coming in at No. 5 overall. San Bernardino Valley has been led by the inside presence of freshman center Roman Silva, who is averaging 15.2 points and 8.1 rebounds-per-game. They've also gotten great production from the outside with both Eric Hancik and Arian Azemi shooting 40.6% from three-point range. SBVC will open PCAC play at San Diego Miramar on Friday at 5:00 PM.
The most likely challenger to the aforementioned programs is San Diego Miramar, who comes into PCAC play at 11-7 overall. The Jets are averaging 80.2 points-per-game and have the conference's leading scorer heading into the second half of the season in Blake Seits. The freshman guard is averaging 19.3 points-per-game, including a 34-point performance against Saddleback on November 28. SD Miramar will open PCAC play at home against San Bernardindo Valley on Friday at 5:00 PM
PCAC SOUTH
The PCAC South appears on the surface to be Southwestern's division to lose. The Jaguars are ranked No. 10 in the state after starting the season 14-4 and have scored big wins over Miramar (11-7), San Diego City (9-9), Citrus (11-6), Santiago Canyon (13-5), Mt. San Jacinto (15-2) and MiraCosta (9-9) in the process. The main challengers in the race for the south title will likely come from either San Diego City College or Imperial Valley College.
Southwestern heads into PCAC play winning their last five games, including a 102-99 shootout against Mt. San Jacinto. The Jaguars are No. 10 in the state in scoring, averaging 84.3 points-per-game. Freshman Marquavian Stephens has been the lightning rod for Southwestern, averaging 19 points-per-game while shooting 46.4% from three-point range. They've also gotten crazy production inside from freshman Jordan Cooks, who is averaging 7.3 rebounds and 2.6 blocks-per-game. Southwestern will open PCAC play at Cuyamaca College on Friday at 5:00 PM.
One team that won't go away without a fight is San Diego City, who has been right in the thick of things at the state tournament the past two seasons. The Knights captured the state title two years ago and finished runner-up last season, knowing how to turn up the heat when it matters. San Diego City enters conference play at just 9-9 overall, but is No. 21 in the Massey Ratings and has played the fourth toughest schedule in the state thus far. The Knights are No. 20 in the state in scoring, averaging 80.2 points-per-game. They are led by sophomore Joseph Riley (14.7 ppg, 9.7 rpg) and freshman Robby Robinson (14.4 ppg), and could be tough in close games as they shoot 72.3% from the free throw line as a team. SD City will open PCAC play at Grossmont College on Friday at 5:00 PM.
One surprise could come from Imperial Valley College, who comes in at just 7-10 but has been in a lot of tough battles throughout. IVC played gamely in a 98-86 loss in a final tune-up against Mt. San Jacinto and made a big run in coming up short against San Bernadino Valley last month (75-85). Imperial Valley heads into conference play with the No. 40 Massey Rating after playing the 19th toughest schedule in the state and currently ranks in the top-30 in the state in both rebounds (19th) and three-point shooting (30th). Imperial Valley has a balanced attack, with five different players averaging 9.8-points-per-game, or-better. IVC will open PCAC play on Friday at home against San Diego Mesa College.