Riverside Men’s Basketball Breaks into Preseason Rankings
After coming off a season in which the Tigers reached the Southern California Regional finals and held an overall record of 23-9, the Riverside City College men's basketball team has earned a preseason ranking of 11th in the state and sixth in Southern California according to the California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches Association (CCCMBCA).
Riverside is joined by a pair of Orange Empire Conference (OEC) members in the rankings as Saddleback is ranked fifth overall and Fullerton comes in at eighth overall.
The Tigers placed third in the OEC last season and reached the playoffs to upset conference foe Cypress and defeat crosstown rival San Bernardino to reach the regional finals. They eventually fell to soon-to-be state champion San Diego City.
Riverside returns some fire power to the hardwood from the 2016-17 roster. They will rely on sophomore tandem Andre Wilson (Corona, CA) and Brae Ivey (Huntington Beach, CA) to kick the offensive into high gear.
Wilson started in 26 games last season and averaged 12.7 points-per-game that included a 43.7 shooting percentage from beyond the arc. He finished in double-digit scoring 20 times highlighted by a pair of 24-point showings. The Tigers won both of those games.
Ivey followed with 11.9 points-per-game last season while facilitating the offensive at the point guard position. He landed in double-digit scoring in all but seven games in last year's campaign. His efforts were highlighted by a 24-point game in a win over Victor Valley. Furthermore, he dished out at least one assist in every game he played. He dished out seven assists on three separate occasions.
Sophomore guard CJ Clark (Riverside, CA) returns after seeing time in 30 games and averaging 7.2 points off the bench. Sophomore guards Demetrius Murray (Devore, CA) and Kane Daniels (Blythe, CA) return as well to solidify the Tigers on both ends of the floor. Both players averaged 2.7 rebounds-per-game.
The Tigers open their season in the Ventura College Tournament in a battle against the Moorpark College Raiders on Thursday, November 2nd at 5 p.m.