The MSJC men's basketball team was locked in a close game most of the night on Wednesday, but were able to pull away late for a 76-66 home conference win over Victor Valley.
The Eagles and the Rams were tied at 37 a piece after the first 20 minutes, as both teams shot an identical 13 of 31 from the field and despite 9 first half turnovers by Victor Valley their 23-16 rebounding advantage kept the game tied. In the second half Victor Valley inched ahead 59-55, but a three pointer from Mateo Blocker and a pair of free throws by BJ Brown gave the Eagles the lead for good at the 7:11 mark. The Rams could never quite recover and MSJC made 6 of 6 free throws down the stretch for the win.
Four Eagles finished the game in double digits led by a game high 22 points from Brown. Dasean Stevens added 17 points, while Kyle Render had 11 and Jackson Bernardo had 10. Alex Miller pulled down a team high 10 rebounds to go along with his 7 points for MSJC.
The victory was the Eagles 6th straight as they improved to 17-4 overall and 9-1 in the Inland Empire Athletic Conference. Victor Valley dropped to 8-14 overall and 3-7 in the IEAC. MSJC will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Palo Verde for a 3 pm game. The Eagles return home on Wednesday to take on league leading San Bernardino Valley at 7 pm, both games will be proceeded by a MSJC women's contest.