MEN’S BASKETBALL: THE STATE CHAMPS!

The No. 1 South Hornets won their 4^th State Title defeating No. 1 North City College of San Francisco at Ventura College on Sunday 85-79.

It was truly a battle of No. 1 verses No. 2 as San Francisco (31-2 overall) firmly held on to the CCCMBCA rankings as the best team in the state. The Hornets (30-3) proved worthy of that title on Sunday afternoon.

The first time the Rams and Hornets met was back in December of 1937. CCSF won the game at home 41-35. The last time both teams faced one another was during the 1961-62 season with Fullerton narrowly winning it on the road 46-45.

FC came out like lightning in a bottle hustling all over the floor taking a 7-0 lead that was capped off by a three-pointer by Rodrick McCobb. At 11:11, the Hornets pushed their lead to 11 (19-8) on a short jumper by Ronne Readus. The Rams came to life going on a 10-3 run that cut in to Fullerton's lead at 22-18. By the time both teams headed to their respective locker rooms at the half, Fullerton held a 6 point advantage 37-31.

The Hornets came out in the second half taking a 49-37 lead on Jailen Moore's two deep three-pointers. By 11:30, Fullerton owned a 55-43 lead that was set off by a hard dunk on a breakaway by McCobb. With 5 minutes left to go in the game and an 8 point lead, Fullerton took the momentum suffocating the Rams in the final minutes. CCSF tried to get back in it with a couple of late three-pointers by Dale Currie, but it was not enough.

A resilient and talented team, San Francisco had been on the ropes twice during the CCCAA State Championship tournament coming back from large deficits against Santa Monica (9 points) and Citrus (17). Fullerton took an early lead and never let go of it as they proved to be the best team in California.

Fullerton last won the title back in 2006 under head coach Dieter Horton. This is Head Coach Perry Webster's first State Championship as a head coach. Webster was the 2010 MVP when Saddleback won the title, and also he won it all as an assistant coach on Andy Ground's 2015 Saddleback team. Webster is the only person to win all three in community college history, and he did it in a nine-year span. At 30 years old, he is also one of the youngest head coaches at the California community college level to win a state title. 

Title Game Highlight Video

ALL-STATE TOURNAMENT TEAM

MVP – Lance Coleman II (18 points, 9 rebounds)

Ronne Readus, Fullerton College (6 points, 7 rebounds)

Rodrick McCobb, Fullerton College (23 points, 6 rebounds)

FULLERTON COLLEGE MEN'S BASKETBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES

1953 – State Runner-up (20-10) - L, 80-78 to Sequoias at Long Beach City College - Head Coach Alex Omalev

1954 - State Champions (31-2) - W, 67-57 over Grant Tech/American River College at Sacramento - Head Coach Alex Omalev

1960 - State Runner-up (27-5) - L, 77-67 to San Jose City (27-7) at San Jose City - Head Coach Alex Omalev

1961 - State Champions (33-2) - W, 94-85 over San Jose City at Santa Maria High School - Head Coach Bill Mann

2006 - State Champions (37-0) - W, 81-67 over West Valley (33-4) at Selland Arena, Fresno, CA - Head Coach Dieter Horton

2008 - State Runner-up (28-6) - L, 72-67 to Citrus College (35-1) at Spanos, UOP - Head Coach Allen Caveness

2017 - State Runner-up (26-7) - L, 53-51 to San Diego City (30-6) at Las Positas - Head Coach Perry Webster

2019 – State Champions (30-3), W, 85-79 over City College of San Francisco (31-2) at Ventura College – Head Coach Perry Webster

THE STATE BRACKET

For more photos by Jim McCormack go to OCSPORTSZONE.COM