El Camino Proves Strong

It’s clear after two rounds of regional playoffs that 23rd-seeded El Camino is the strongest basketball team from the five-member South Coast Conference. The Warriors weren’t seeded accordingly, but they’ve proven their strength by upsetting two higher-seeded teams on the road--No. 10 Santa Monica and No. 7 L.A. City College.

All other SCC teams, though seeded above El Camino, have been eliminated from the playoffs. No. 16 Long Beach fell to No. 17 Riverside in the first round and No. 21 Pasadena lost to No. 12 Golden West on the same day. On Wednesday, SCC champion Cerritos, seeded sixth, was upset by No. 11 Glendale.

The Warriors have survived two tough rounds, but their biggest test will be Saturday when they go to No. 2 Cypress (27-3) for the bracket final. A victory against the Orange Empire League champs means a spot March 8-10 in the final eight tournament at UC Irvine’s Bren Events Center.

El Camino (22-10) will have to play impeccable basketball to obtain its third consecutive playoff upset. Cypress, whose coach, Don Johnson, has a 500-208 record in 23 years at the school, nailed the Warriors 70-49 on Dec. 23.