Arcelon Osborne, a 6-foot-4 sophomore forward for the Knights in 2008-09, has received a full scholarship to Mid-America Christian University in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Osborne earned All-PCC Honorable Mention in 2008-09 as he played a key role off the bench for the PCC champion Knights. He is the sixth sophomore on this year's team to sign with a 4-year university.




 

Marquintice Davis will be joining Cal State Dominguez Hills, which finished the 2008-09 season with a 22-8 overall record. Davis averaged 14.4 points, 8.3 assists, and 5.0 rebounds in his only season at City College.

Myles Luttman, the starting center for the Knights in 2008-09, will be headed to Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas to play under Head Coach Matt Doherty. Luttman will be looking to add depth and experience to a young team.

Latroy Taylor, who gave the Knights quality minutes off the bench, will play for Lubbock Christian University in Lubbock, Texas. Taylor is joining a team that ended with with a 14-16 record.

In addition, Malcolm Thomas and Jamel McGuire will be joining Div. I programs. Thomas and McGuire will play for San Diego State and Cal State Fullerton, respectively. Both signed with their schools last Fall.
 

The California Community College Athletic Association awarded Malcolm Thomas with Honorable Mention for Athlete of the Month (March).

Thomas led the Knights to a 28-5 record and a PCC championship with a 15-1 record. He was also an integral part of the Knights' success in the postseason. He scored 30 points and collected 13 rebounds in an 80-78 regional semifinal win over Antelope Valley.

Thomas then put in 24 points and 15 rebounds in a 69-66 victory over Mt. San Jacinto to advance to the Final Eight in Fresno.

Although the Knights were defeated in the final seconds by San Joaquin Delta (71-69) in the quarterfinals, Thomas still managed to get 23 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks.
 

Charlens received the CCCAA Co-Coach of the Year award for leading the Knights to their best season in school history. They finished with an overall record of 28-5 and won the Pacific Coast Conference for the second time in five years with a record of 15-1. SDCC also won two Southern California Regional playoff games to reach the final eight in Fresno for the first time ever.

Thomas, a sophomore from Crawford High School in San Diego, was given the CCCAA Co-MVP award and also made the All-State First Team. He led the Knights in scoring (21.1), rebounding (12.9),  blocks (3.8), field goal percentage (60.6) and free throws made (178) and attempted (292).

Charlens and Thomas also received similar awards from the PCC. Charlens was named PCC Men's Basketball Coach of the Year and Thomas was named PCC Player of the Year.
 

The Knights could not find a rhythm and were out of sink on both ends of the floor in the first 24 minutes and fell behind 41-22, but a 3-point play by Malcolm Thomas with 15:43 left seemed to change the momentum in their favor.

SDCC started using a full court press that forced the Mustangs into 11 second half turnovers and the Knights capitalized as they went on a 41-22 run in the next 12 minutes to tie the game at 63-63 after two successful free throws by Latroy Taylor.

In the final four minutes, Knights' guard Marquintice Davis would have an answer for every Mustangs basket. He converted on three straight drives to the hoop, including the game-tying layup with 21.8 seconds left.

In their final possession, however, the Mustangs' Glenn Miller tipped in a missed shot by Markonio Rutledge to give them the lead for good with 11.6 remaining.

Davis would have a chance at tying the game on the other end, but he couldn't convert on a short jumper in the paint.

PCC Player of the Year Malcolm Thomas led the Knights with 23 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks. Jamel McGuire also scored in double figures with 13.

Box Score
 

Photo by Christine Tang

Jamel McGuire's hot shooting in the first half helped the Knights close the gap to 35-33 at halftime after trailing by as many as eight points. McGuire scored 12 of his 20 points in the first half and had a stretch where he made five consecutive field goals. 

The Knights (28-4) went on an 18-8 run in the first five minutes of the second half to take a 51-43 lead, their largest of the game. Mt. San Jacinto (23-11), however, would not go away. Led by Melvin Goins' team-high 22 points, the Eagles were able to get back to within one point with 10 minutes left.

The Eagles eventually tied the game at 64-64 on Sam O'Shea's jumper, but the Knights would go ahead for good after Malcolm Thomas's fast break layup with 3:33 to play.

Both teams would hold each other scoreless until Thomas was fouled with 14 seconds remaining on a rebound off Goins' missed jumper. After Thomas made 1-of-2 free throws to give the Knights a 67-64 lead, McGuire purposely fouled Goins to prevent a game-tying 3-point attempt. Goins made both of his free throw attempts to bring the Eagles to within one.

McGuire was fouled on the next possession and made both of his free throws. With three seconds left, the Eagles had one last chance to tie the game, but Goins missed a 3-pointer and the Knights escaped with the victory in the Southern California Regional Final.

Malcolm Thomas led the Knights with a game-high 24 points and 15 rebounds. Marquintice Davis contributed 12 points and six assists.

The Knights defense was strong throughout the game as they held Mt. San Jacinto to 31 percent shooting.

The Knights will now play San Joaquin Delta (28-5) in the quarterfinals of the CCCAA Men's Basketball Championships in Fresno on Thursday, Mar. 12 at 3:00 p.m.
Box Score
CCCAA Bracket
 

The Knights (27-4), who are the No. 4 seed, will play No. 5 Mt. San Jacinto (23-10) who defeated No. 12 L.A. City in the Regional Simifinals.

The winner of the game will advance to the State Championships in Fresno, Calif.

General admission for Saturday's game at Harry West Gymnasium is $8. Tickets for students, faculty, staff, senior citizens and children under 12 are $5.
 

Luttman, the starting center for the Knights, recorded a double-double in the Regional Semifinal against Antelope Valley. He scored 11 points and brought down 11 rebounds in the dramatic 80-78 overtime victory.

Malcolm Thomas received honorable mention for the week as he put in a game-high 30 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks in the win over Antelope Valley.
 

The No. 4-seeded Knights, who went up by six points with just over two minutes left in regulation after Daniel Valdez nailed a 3-pointer from the left corner, quickly saw that lead disappear.

No. 13 Antelope Valley tied it a minute later at 63-63 after Rod Singleton made six straight free throws that were rewarded after the Knights' Myles Luttman picked up a technical foul and Nehemiah Simpkins fouled twice. The Marauders' Raymond Cody then gave his team the lead with a fast break layup with :54 remaining. He was fouled on the layup, but could not convert the 3-point play and Luttman was fouled on the missed free throw.

After Luttman made both free throws to cut the deficit to 65-64, Antelope Valley's Lionell Holmes rebounded his teammate's miss and made a layup to give the Marauders a 67-64 lead with 20 seconds left.

On the ensuing possession by the Knights, Davis missed a 3-point attempt, but the ball landed in Simpkins hands and he hit the game-tying fall-away 3-pointer with three seconds left in regulation.

The Knights scored the first six points of the overtime session, but the Marauders would not go away as they tied it at 78-78 with 14 seconds left. Davis then took the inbounds pass and waited for the clock to wind down. He dribbled in and made an 18-foot jumper with 0.8 seconds remaining to give the Knights the dramatic victory.

Malcolm Thomas scored 18 of his game-high 30 points in the second half and overtime. He also brought down 13 rebounds and blocked three shots. Luttman also had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

SDCC will now advance to the Regional Final to face No. 5 Mt. San Jacinto on Saturday, Mar. 7 at 7 p.m. Since the Knights are seeded higher, they will host the game.
Box Score
 

The Knights (26-4, 15-1 PCC), who are the No. 4 seed, will play No. 13 Antelope Valley (20-14) who defeated No. 20 Moorpark in the Regional Quarterfinals.

General admission for Saturday's game at Harry West Gymnasium is $8. Tickets for students, faculty, staff, senior citizens and children under 12 are $5.
 

This is the second time in five years that Charlens has led the team to the conference title. The other time was in the 2004-05 season, his first season at SDCC.

The Knights, who achieved their best overall record (26-4) and best conference record (15-1) in school history, were led by a group of outstanding sophomores who were also recognized by the PCC.

Malcolm Thomas received the Most Valuable Player award. He led the PCC in scoring with 20.7 per game and rebounding with 12.7 per game. He was also second in blocks (3.8) and in field goal percentage (62.5).

Marquintice Davis and Jamel McGuire were named to the All-PCC First Team along with Thomas. Davis averaged conference bests in assists (8.9) and steals (2.3).

McGuire averaged 16.7 points and 2.2 steals for the Knights. He also shot 49 percent from the floor.

Myles Luttman and Arcelon Osborne were also included as they were given All-PCC Honorable Mention.
 

Malcolm Thomas scored the first two points 18 seconds into the game on a follow-up layup. Marquintice Davis then intercepted the ball and fed Thomas for a fast break layup. Seconds later, Thomas stole the ball and threw a lob pass to Jamel McGuire for the dunk.

The quick 6-0 start led to a Mesa timeout, but the Knights (25-4, 14-1 PCC) would not be slowed down on this night as they built a 40-28 halftime lead.

The Olympians, led by Jason Starr's 21 points, cut the deficit to 44-36 two minutes into the second half, but that would be as close as they would get. The Knights tightened up their defense and went on a 12-2 run that put the game out of reach. SDCC would eventually increase the lead to 79-48 with six minutes remaining.

McGuire led the Knights with a season-high 30 points on 13-of-20 shooting. Thomas added 14 to go with 12 rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Davis put in 12 points and dished out a game-high 10 assists. Brentlee Boswell provided a spark off the bench as he had 13 points and 14 rebounds.

SDCC made 58 percent of their shots and held Mesa to 32 percent shooting. The Knights outscored the Olympians 54-16 in the paint and 25-4 on fast break points.

This is the third time this decade that the Knights have captured the PCC title and the second time for Head Coach Mitch Charlens.

"I am proud of the team," said Charlens. "I knew coming into the season that we had some special pieces, though, it takes tremendous commitment and sacrifice to become a great team."

"Our bench players would start at almost every other community college in California and that is what makes us great," said Charlens. "We have so much talent and the willingness of great players to take lesser roles for the betterment of the team. It's great to be champs."

Charlens also led the Knights to the PCC title in his first season in 2004-05. The first title of the decade came in the 2000-01 season.

The 25 wins this season are the most in SDCC basketball history and the Knights can still add on to that. They have one more regular season game at Grossmont on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 5 p.m.

The Knights will then begin their postseason run at home on either Wednesday, Feb. 25 or Saturday, Feb. 28.
Box Score
 

Sophomore Marquintice Davis led the Knights (24-4, 13-1 PCC) with 26 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds. He scored 10 of those points during a 21-9 run in the final nine minutes of the first half as the Knights turned a 1-point deficit into a 39-28 lead at the break.

Davis made 10 of his 17 shots, including 4-of-8 from the 3-point line.

In the second half, the Knights continued their onslaught as they built a 38-point lead with under three minutes remaining. SDCC outscored Mira Costa (12-15, 6-8 PCC) 60-24 in the paint and 23-9 on second chance points.

Sophomore Malcolm Thomas took advantage of his size as he poured in 21 points to go with a game-high 11 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and three steals.

Sophomores Jamel McGuire, Nehemiah Simpkins and Myles Luttman all scored in double figures for the Knights. McGuire had 13 points, Simpkins scored 11 and Luttman put in 10 to go with seven rebounds.
Box Score
 

The Knights (23-4, 12-1 PCC) shot 60 percent in the first half, which saw six ties and six lead changes, but could only manage a 39-38 lead as they went into the locker room. The Imperial Valley Arabs (6-19, 3-9 PCC) used their offensive rebounds to hang with SDCC as they collected 14 to the Knights' five and outscored them 10-0 on second chance points.

With the score tied 51-51 five minutes into the second half, Knights' sophomore center Myles Luttman put in a layup that sparked a 16-0 run. Davis scored eight points during that run, including two 3-pointers. Luttman capped off the run with a put back off Jamel McGuire's missed layup.

Imperial Valley threatened the Knights in the final two minutes as they cut the lead to five, but McGuire made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 44 seconds to seal the win.

McGuire finished with 18 points and five assists.

The Knights shot 58 percent for the game and outscored the Arabs 16-0 on fast break points.

The win was their fourth in a row and their 10th in the last 11 games.
Box Score
 

The Knights jumped out to a 21-2 lead eight minutes into the game and took a 50-14 lead into the half. Thomas took advantage of the Comets' smaller front court as he scored 20 of his game-high 35 points in the first half.

Thomas shot 13-of-17 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line. He brought down 13 rebounds and tied a game-high with seven assists. Thomas was also a force on the defensive end with three blocks and two steals.

Palomar guard Theo Overstreet tried bringing his team back from a 39-point deficit by scoring 24 second half points, but it was not enough as the Comets would not get any closer than 15 points.

Sophomore Jamel McGuire scored 16 points and had five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Sophomore guard Marquintice Davis had 11 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.
Box Score
 

The 20 wins are the most since the 2004-05 season when they finished 18-10 overall and 12-2 in the PCC. The Knights (20-4, 9-1 PCC) are currently ranked 12th in the state and are looking to win their third PCC championship of the decade. Their previous championships came in the 2000-01 and 2004-05 seasons.

Four of the next five games will be played at home with the first against Palomar on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 5 p.m.
 

Knights' sophomore Marquintice Davis scored 14 points to go along with seven rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and three steals.

SDCC fell behind 14-10 midway through the first half, but used a 17-6 run to gain their largest lead of the half at 27-20 with 4:57 left. The Knights (19-3, 8-0) went into the locker room with a 32-27 lead.

After falling behind 37-36 early in the second half, the Knights quickly turned things around by going on a 29-6 run to go ahead 66-43 with 40 seconds remaining.

The last four points of that run were scored on fast break alley-oop dunks. The first came after Thomas blocked a shot then raced down the floor to receive a lob pass from Davis. Thomas then stole a pass and drove the length of the floor to find Jamel McGuire for the dunk.

The Knights put the clamps down on the Griffins in the second half as they held them scoreless for a six minute stretch and also held them to 18 percent shooting.

Nehemiah Simpkins scored 11 points and brought down nine rebounds. Jamel McGuire also scored in double figures as he put in 10.
 

The Knights, who briefly fell to No. 5, defeated Imperial Valley, 58-45, on Saturday as they improved to 16-3 overall and 5-0 in the PCC. They have won 12 of their last 13 games and are off to their best conference start after five games since 2004-05 when they were 4-1. The Knights went on to win the PCC championship that year.
 

Later in the half, with the Knights down 47-44, Thomas hit a 3-pointer to start a 10-0 run that would give them the lead for good. Southwestern got as close as two with under six minutes to play after a free throw by Anthony Nieves, but SDCC answered with an alley-oop dunk by Thomas from Marquintice Davis, a 3-pointer by Daniel Valdez, and a layup by Davis.

Jamel McGuire scored 15 points, 11 of which came in the first half. Davis put in 14 points to go along with seven assists and four steals in 39 minutes of action.

The Knights shot 56 percent while holding Southwestern to 34 percent. Southwestern's Enrique Vazquez and Moses Omolade each scored 16 points.

SDCC has now won 11 of its last 12 games and are 15-3 overall.
 

The Gauchos, who also came in riding a nine game win streak, jumped on the Knights early and built a 36-19 lead at halftime while holding SDCC to 25 percent shooting.

The Knights went on an 8-0 run to start the second half and cut the deficit to 36-27 with 15:48 to play, but Saddleback countered with a 13-2 run of their own to put the game away. The Gauchos were led by Kevin Menner who scored a game-high 23 points to go with 10 rebounds.

SDCC's Malcolm Thomas had 12 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. Marquintice Davis had 10 points.
 

Davis scored a season-high 27 points, five rebounds and went 10-for-10 from the free throw line in an 80-74 win over Miramar on Dec. 17. Two days later in a 74-52 victory over Cuyamaca, Davis scored 16 points and had three steals.
 

Jamel McGuire scored 18 points and played strong on the defensive end as he recorded two blocks and two steals. Malcolm Thomas added 17 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in the victory.

SDCC built a 32-25 halftime lead that they eventually extended to a 65-51 lead with 5:40 remaining.

The Jets, led by Bryant Taylor's 24 points, were able to rally back to cut the Knights' lead to 72-69 with 1:14 left in the game. Knights' sophomore guard Daniel Valdez, however, hit a big 3-pointer to give SDCC a six point lead with 54 seconds remaining. The Knights went 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the final seconds to seal the victory.

The Knights never trailed in the game and they held the Miramar Jets to 32 percent shooting while shooting 51 percent themselves. The win was the second against Miramar this season. The Knights also defeated them, 81-78 in the championship game of the Rancho Vista Shootout.
Box Score
 

The Knights have won seven games in a row and won the Rancho Vista Shootout last weekend. At the tournament, they defeated Canyons, 2nd-ranked Riverside and Miramar.
 

The Knights, led by Jamal McGuire's 18 points, had all five starters score in double figures. Malcolm Thomas put in 17 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and five blocks in the tournament final. Daniel Valdez scored 11 points and Myles Luttman and Nehemiah Simpkins both scored 10 points.

SDCC went into halftime with a 48-34 lead, but Miramar cut it to one with less than 20 seconds left in the game. The Knights, however, were able to hang on and win.

The Knights defeated College of the Canyons in the first game of the tournament, 85-76. In the semi-finals, the Knights beat 2nd-ranked Riverside, 83-78.

Thomas was named the tournament MVP for the second straight weekend. He scored a tournament-high 42 points in the opening game against Canyons and he averaged 23.3 points, 14.7 rebounds and 3.7 blocks during the tournament.

McGuire and Marquintice Davis both joined Thomas on the All-Tournament Team. McGuire averaged 19.3 points and 3.7 rebounds and Davis averaged 9.5 points and six assists during the tournament.
 

Malcolm Thomas recorded a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Marquintice Davis put in 14 points and Miles Luttman contributed with 11 points.

The Knights will meet PCC foe Miramar in the championship game of the tournament on Sunday at 5 p.m.
 

Thomas' 42 points is the fourth most points in tournament history.

Marquintice Davis had a game-high 10 assists and three steals. Daniel Valdez put in 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from behind the 3-point line and Jamel McGuire had 10 points.

The Knights now move on to face the 2nd-ranked Riverside Tigers on Saturday at 5 p.m.
 

Thomas, a sophomore forward, averaged 27.3 points, 14.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.7 blocks as the Knights won the Neil Edwards Classic hosted by Citrus College.

He led the Knights in scoring and rebounding in all three wins at the tournament. In the championship game against Reedley, Thomas had 24 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks.

Thomas was also selected as the South Region Player of the Week by JCScores.com.
 

By doing so, the Knights have moved up seven spots and are now ranked 5th in the state according to the Coach's Poll.
 

Tournament MVP Malcolm Thomas scored a game-high 24 points to go along with 16 rebounds in the championship game. Jamel McGuire put in 22 points and Marquintice Davis scored 13 points and had seven assists.

With the scored tied 37-37 early in the second half, the Knights used a 14-2 run to pull away from Reedley for good. Their lead ballooned to as many as 18 late in the game.

In the first game of the tournament, the Knights led Orange Coast by 19 with 7:20 remaining, but the Pirates rallied to cut that lead to 71-70 with 13 seconds left. Thomas was immediately fouled and hit two clutch free throws to extend the lead to three. After a missed three-point attempt by Orange Coast's Eric Williams, Knights' forward Brentlee Boswell put the game away by making 1-of-2 free throws. The final score was 74-70 in favor of the Knights

The Knights met No. 7-ranked Chaffey College in the semi-finals. SDCC overcame a 13 point halftime deficit and took the lead for good with 4:19 remaining on a three-point play by the Knights' Thomas after he was fouled on a dunk. The Knights outscored Chaffey 43-25 in the second half and went on to win, 69-64. Thomas led all players with 32 points and 14 rebounds.

The Knights' Thomas, Davis and McGuire were all named to the All-Tournament Team

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
Game 3 Box Score
 

Sophomore guard Marquintice Davis scored 10 points to go along with seven rebounds, five assists, and five steals. Sophomore forward Malcolm Thomas added nine points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

The Knights went into halftime with a 42-21 cushion and then extended that lead to the largest of the game at 64-44 with 8:50 remaining. SDCC did not allow Pierce to come closer than 16 the rest of the game.

SDCC outscored Pierce 12-2 on fast break points and 34-24 on points in the paint.

Box Score

McGuire, who signed a letter of intent to play at Cal State Fullerton last week, helped lead the Knights to a second place finish at the Knights Invitational Tournament. He averaged 24 points and 3.3 steals during the 3-game tournament. McGuire also shot 60 percent from the floor and made 14-of-16 free throws. He was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
 

11/16/08

The Knights won the first two games of the tournament by defeating Mt. San Antonio (78-62) and Santa Barbara (82-66), but were defeated in the championship game, 99-93, by the Citrus Fighting Owls who are the defending state champs and are currently ranked No. 1.

Citrus jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead and extended it to as much as 16 in the first half, but the Knights managed to trim the deficit to 48-38 at the half.

In the second half, Citrus stretched its halftime lead to as much 18 by hitting a barrage of three-pointers. The Fighting Owls went 6-for-11 from beyond the arc in the second half with guard Jose Rivera making four of those.

Down 96-83 with 2:48 remaining, Knights' guard Marquintice Davis led a 10-0 run that cut Citrus' lead to three point with under one minute, but the Knights were forced to foul as the Fighting Owls were trying to dribble out the clock.

Citrus guard Kelly Johnson made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 24 seconds to put the game away.

Malcolm Thomas led the way for the Knights with 22 points, 14 rebounds, eight blocks, and five assists. Jamel McGuire had 21 points and three steals. Davis went 3-for-5 from the three-point line and totaled 19 points. Adam Brooke recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Knights Invitational All-Tournament Team
Aaron Trigg - Napa Valley
Ross Williams - Palomar
Troy Payne (MVP) - Citrus
Kelly Johnson - Citrus
Justin Johnson - Citrus
Malcolm Thomas - SD City
Marquintice Davis - SD City
Jamel McGuire - SD City
 

Thomas, a 6-foot-9 sophomore forward, has signed on to join the San Diego State Aztecs for the 2009-10 season. Thomas came to SDCC after playing his freshman year at Pepperdine where he was selected All-WCC honorable mention and to the WCC All-Freshman Team.

McGuire, a 6-foot-5 forward from Gompers High in San Diego, Calif., signed a letter of intent with Cal State Fullerton for the 2009-10 season. McGuire is currently in his second season with the SDCC Knights.

After dropping the opening game of the tournament to San Francisco (95-92), the Knights bounced back to beat Canada College, 75-59, to advance to the championship game of the consolation bracket against San Francisco.

Forward Malcolm Thomas was selected to the All-Tournament Team. He averaged 27.7 points per game during the three game tournament. Marcquintice Davis recorded a triple-double in Sunday's contest against San Francisco. He had 20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.