COD Men’s Basketball looks ahead after falling in Garcia Classic

The Roadrunners hosted Long Beach, Glendale (AZ), West LA, Compton, Grossmont, Imperial Valley and fellow Pacific Coast Athletic Conference-North Division opponent San Bernardino Valley. The tournament featured a high powered finale on Saturday afternoon, where San Bernardino Valley defeated Compton. Pacific Coast Athletic Conference-South Division opponents the Grossmont Griffins and the Imperial Valley Arabs met up in the Third Place Championship, with the Griffins taking home the title in that contest. In the Consolation Championship, Glendale (AZ) knocked off the West Los Angeles Wildcats to claim that plaque. 

Notably, Desert sophomore guard Kenny Lewis (Riverside Ramona) was presented with the Frank Garcia Award, which is an honor to the College of the Desert sophomore player which exemplifies dedication and commitment to the Roadrunners Men's Basketball program and outstanding achievement on the court and in the classroom.

The Roadrunners opened up the Garcia Classic with a game against the Imperial Valley Arabs (1-2). The game was tied at 36-36 at the half, but a strong second half by the Arabs, put Desert in a pickle, with the home side falling, 81-68.

Desert received some great performances from freshman guard Shaquille Russell (Reseda Cleveland), sophomore forward Dajuan Fulgham (Montevallo, AL) and Lewis. All three were in double figures as Russell led the team with 15 points, on 5 of 11 shooting and going a perfect 4 for 4 from the free throw line. "Slim" Fulgham (pronounced Ful-Gym) contributed 13 points on 4 of 7 shooting and going 5 of 8 from the charity stripe, while leading the team in total boards with eight and Lewis added 10 points on 2 of 3 shooting, going a perfect 4 for 4 from the free throw line.

Freshman forward Caleb Jones (Fontana Azariel Blanchard Miller) added eight points off of the bench on 3 of 4 shooting and freshman forward Mike Johnson (Lancaster Eastside) put up seven points, going 5 for 9 from the free throw line in the opener.

On the consolation side of the bracket, Desert faced off with the Glendale (Arizona) Gauchos (2-1). This was a tale of two halves as the Roadrunners went into the halftime break, down 15-points, 46-31, then went off in the second half, scoring 58 points and almost getting there in the end, but falling late, 94-89.

Lewis led the team in scoring and was deadly from beyond the arc, putting up 18 points on 4 of 9 shooting and Fulgham was outstanding, leading the team in boards (7), assists (5) and steals (3), all while scoring 17 points, on 8 of 16 shooting. Russell had a fantastic afternoon as well, contributing 14 points and was a deadly 10 for 10 from the free throw line, along with five assists.

Freshman forward Trevill Martin (Las Vegas (NV) Bishop Gorman) came off of the bench to add 11 points on 5 of 8 shooting and Johnson stepped up again with 9 points, going 5 for 6 from the free throw line on the afternoon.

Information, Photos & Story provided by COD Sports Information.