(Walnut, CA) Led by four players in double figures, the Mt. SAC Men's Basketball team defeated visiting Pasadena City College, 71-63, in a South Coast Conference North game on Wednesday, January 31.
The 3C2A State No. 5 ranked Mounties (19-2, 3-0) were led by CJ Fisher (19 Pts., 8-16 FGM-A, 1-4 3PM-A, 2-2 FTM-A, 11 RB, 5 Stls.), Jerimiyah Smith (4-7 FGM-A, 1-1 3 PM-A, 5-7 FTM-A6 RB), Jon McCullough (11 Pts., 4-10 FGM-A, 3-5 3PM-A, 5 RB) and Nick Hopkins (10 Pts., 2-7 FGM-A, 6-8 FGM-A, 6 RB, 5 A, Stl.).
"This was a very big win for us, huge actually," Mt. SAC Head Coach Michael Fenison said. "It will give us control of our destiny and that's what we want.
"We've got a ways to go and we're going to get better."
As a team, the Mounties grabbed 49 rebounds and were led by 28 points from the bench.
The Mounties led by as much as 13 points (22-9) midway through the first half and had a 10-point, 37-27 advantage at the intermission.
Fisher led all scorers in the half with 15 of his 19 points and six of his 11 rebounds.
"(Fisher) was huge and did a wonderful job and stepped up and made some plays for us," Fenison said. "We're so excited to have him."
Smith led the bench play with 14 points for the Mounties.
"Everybody is going to have their night and I'm just glad we got the dub (win)," Fisher said. "This was a big win for us going 3-0 (in the SCC), but the job is not done, and we will see (PCC) again.
The Lancers opened the second half with an 11-0 run to lead, 38-37, but Mt. SAC sophomore guard Elijah Cirilo (2-5 FGM-A, 1-3 3 PM-A, 2-2 FTM-A, 3 RB) connected with a 3-pointer at the 16:30 mark to stop PCC in its scoring spree.
The Mounties came right back with a 9-2 run and never trailed the rest of the way for the win.
Mt. SAC continues SCC North action on Friday, Feb. 2 as they host Rio Hondo.