The MSJC men's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking loss at San Bernardino Valley on Saturday, but rallied back to defeat College of the Desert on Wednesday to wrap up Inland Empire Athletic Conference play with a 12-4 record.
The Eagles lost in controversial style on Saturday as the score on the scoreboard didn't seem to match the action on the floor as the game was recorded as a 101-92 overtime loss to the Wolverines. In a very exciting and intense game, the two teams went back and forth for the first 35 minutes, before it looked as though the Eagles had the road game in hand. A late rally by the Wolverines forced overtime, where they were able to take advantage and earn the win. Anton Mozga had a huge game for MSJC as he scored 23 points and grabbed a team high 18 rebounds, Josh Hardiman also scored 23 for the Eagles. Isaiah Skinner finished the game with 14 points, while Danilo Da Silva and Ethan Bell both had 12. Bell added a team high 8 assists and Da Silva had 7. The loss was devestating to the Eagles conference title hopes as they fell two games behind SBVC in the conference standings. A review of the game film shows the Eagles had one more point than the Wolverines at the end of regulation.
MSJC bounced back on Wednesday to win on the road at College of the Desert 85-78. The Eagles fought off a slow start to outscore the Roadrunners 51-39 in the second half to grab the win. Cameron Durr came off the bench to score a game high 25 points, 18 in the second half. Da Silva finished the game with 18 points, he had 13 in the second half. Mekhi Hill had some big plays as well for the Eagles as he finished with 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. Mozga and Skinner also finished in double figures in scoring with 11 and 10 while Bell had 9 points and a team best 6 assists.
The Eagles are now 17-10 overall and finished 12-4 in IEAC play. They have one regular season game remaining on Friday February 25th when they host LA Southwest at 6 pm. Both the men's and women's teams will be celebrating Sophomore Night on Friday.