A Stellar Season for the Chaffey Men’s Basketball Team
By Hagen Sparrow
Photo by Sheryl Herchenroeder, Chaffey College Athletics
The Chaffey College Panthers established themselves as one of the best teams in the state this season. They started their season lighting up scoreboards and winning 8 out of their first 9 games.
Chaffey headed into conference play with an impressive 11-2 record, where they would utterly dominate throughout finishing with a record of 25-3 (15-1 in conference) and becoming Inland Empire Athletic Conference (IEAC) Champions once again since the 2019-2020 season.
This electrifying squad was led by longtime Head Coach Jeff Klein. He finished his 23rd season as head coach with the Panthers and was named Conference Coach of the Year for the tenth time.
The coaching staff, players and everyone involved with the team made this season one of the best in school history. The success seen by the Chaffey Men's Basketball team would not have been possible without a collective effort.
Marcus Green, a sophomore wing, was the team’s leading scorer averaging 17 points per game. He also averaged 3.6 rebounds per game to go along with his scoring. His flashy highlight dunks and big-time performances contributed a lot to the team’s success. Green received the honor of being IEAC Player of the Year.
Returning sophomore wing, Brody Davis had an impressive season. He averaged 13.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. He also received his second IEAC First Team All-Conference Award. Davis’ toughness and ability to score inside filled a huge role that this team needed.
Crafty freshman guard, Uriyah Rojas, filled up the stat sheet on any given night. He averaged 13.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. His ball-handling skills, finishing ability and outside shooting made it hard for teams to guard him. Rojas joined fellow teammate Davis in being selected to the IEAC First Team All-Conference Award.
Other big contributors such as Shaden Knight and Nate Simon received the IEAC Second-Team All-Conference Award. Both were able to make an impact on the game with their crafty scoring ability and outside shooting.
This Panthers squad had some major games throughout the season. They averaged 101.4 points per game and 107.8 points per game during conference play. The team's fast style of play allowed them to light up the scoreboard.
They would break the school record for most points in a single game, surpassing the previous record of 133, by scoring 137 points in an away road victory against Desert College.
That single-game record wouldn’t stand very long. In their very next game, the Panthers set a new record when they defeated Barstow 140-69 at home. That 71-point victory would also be the largest margin of victory in school history.
The team was looking to break their own record yet again, and they did with an impressive road victory over Barstow. The game finished 153-106.
By far their most impressive games of the season came against one of the top-ranked teams in the state, Mt. San Jacinto. The Panthers had two matchups against the top-ranked opponent. Both times they pulled out a double-digit victory.
The first meeting between the two teams came at home for Chaffey where they would gain control early and not let go. They ended up finishing the game with a 97-74 victory. The next matchup between the two had the Panthers traveling this time around. At half, it was a tied game but the team managed to take control. They would come away with a 110-91 victory in front of a packed gym.
Unfortunately, this historic and electrifying season came to a stunning end in Round 2 of the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Playoffs. Chaffey, who was the 4 seed heading into this game, was upset by Saddleback College, who was the 20 seed. The team could not overcome their 6-point deficit at half and lost with a final of 80-74.
Head Coach Jeff Klein stated, “It was a pleasure to coach these guys. They played hard throughout the year…not in a long shot would I have traded any players or this season.”