By John M. Sherrard

(Walnut, CA) With the playoffs right around the corner, the Mt. SAC Men's Basketball team fall to Chaffey College Friday night, 57-54, and fell out of a three-way tie for first in the South Coast Conference North.

With the setback the Mounties ended the regular season in third place at 7-3 in conference and 17-10 overall. The playoff schedule will be announced Monday and the games will begin later this week.

Chaffey had a three-point halftime lead, 29-26, and made it stand up as each team scored 28 points each in the second half.

With Chaffey clinging to a four-point lead, 53-49, Mt. SAC sophomore guard Nick Brown (7 points, 2-2 FT, 3 RB, steal) hit a long-range, three-pointer to climb to within a point, 53-52, with thirty five seconds remaining.

After the Panthers sank two free throws for the 55-52 lead, the Mounties missed on a chance to tie the game when a 3-point attempt missed with eight seconds left. Each team traded a pair of points for the 57-54 final.

Freshman guard Josh Johnson (4-8 FG, 2-2 FT, 3-pointer) led Mt. SAC with 11 points, grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and sophomore G/F AJ McLaurin (2 3-pointers, 2 RB) added 10 points.

Sophomore G/F Isaiah Watson (1 3-pointer, 4 RB, blk) and freshman guard Corey Grant (2, 3-pointers, 3 assists) added nine and eight points respectively.

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For additional information, please contact the Mt. SAC Sports Information Office at 909.274.4630.