Seven County Teams Earn Men’s Basketball Berths

Seven of the eight Orange County teams received berths in the Southern California community college men’s basketball playoff field, which was announced Tuesday.

Saddleback, which tied for first in the Orange Empire Conference with Riverside, was seeded No. 7, the best among local teams to make the 32-team tournament. The Gauchos (24-5) play host to No. 26 San Diego Mesa Saturday.

Also Saturday: Cypress (13-18), the No. 30-seeded team, is at No. 3 Santa Monica (27-3) and No. 32 Golden West (14-20) is at No. 1 Ventura (27-2).

In Friday games: Rancho Santiago, seeded 19th, is at No. 14 Long Beach (20-10) and No. 18 Irvine Valley is at No. 15 Los Angeles Southwest (17-14) and No. 17 Los Angeles Trade Tech (15-14) is at No. 16 Orange Coast (18-13). Games are tentatively set for 7 p.m.

The second round is Feb. 28 and regional finals are March 2. The four surviving teams from Southern and Northern California meet in the state tournament March 7-9 in San Jose.

Saddleback will be seeking its first appearance in the state tournament since 1987, when the Gauchos lost to Ventura in the final.

If Saddleback wins in the first round, the Gauchos will play the winner of No. 23 Barstow (22-10) at No. 10 Bakersfield (21-10). Another victory could mean a rematch with No. 3 MiraCosta (27-3), which has beaten Saddleback twice this season.

“We’re eager to play,” Saddleback Coach Bill Brummel said. “We have a great deal of respect for all the teams in our bracket.”

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Saddleback (27-0) earned the No. 2 spot and a bye in the first round of the Southern California women’s basketball tournament. Ventura (30-0) got the top spot in the 24-team field.

In first-round games Friday: No. 24 Mt. San Antonio (11-12) is at No. 9 Irvine Valley (24-7) and No. 17 San Bernardino Valley (15-12) is at No. 16 Golden West (17-15).

In first-round games Saturday: No. 23 Santa Monica (11-16) is at No. 10 Orange Coast (22-10) and No. 19 Cuesta (17-13) is at No. 14 Fullerton (15-15).

Games are tentatively set for 7 p.m.

The second round is Feb. 27 and 28 and the regional finals are March 2. The final four teams from Southern and Northern California meet in the state tournament March 7-9 in San Jose.

This is the first year the men’s and women’s tournaments will be played at the same site.

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Saddleback’s Anthony Carter earned co-most valuable honors of the Orange Empire Conference in vote of the men’s team coaches.

Carter, a sophomore guard who averaged 27 points, shared the honor with Gary Williams, a sophomore forward from Riverside. Williams averaged 25.

Tim O’Brien of Orange Coast was selected the coach of the year.

The all-conference team:

Matt Ambrose (Orange Coast), Duane Curtis (OCC), Ty Berry (Fullerton), Anthony Carter (Saddleback), David Drakeford (Saddleback), Rick Hite (Riverside), Jason Krauss (Cypress), David Neal (Cypress), Josh Porter (Irvine Valley), Chris Rose (Rancho Santiago), Rod Scheuerman (Golden West), Gary Williams (Riverside), Todd Wilson (Rancho Santiago).

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Riverside’s Alicia Rubio, a sophomore forward, was selected as the most valuable player in the Orange Empire Conference by women’s team coaches.

Rubio, who averaged a conference-best 22 points, also averaged 10 rebounds.

Saddleback’s Jack Single, which led his team to a 27-0 mark, was the coach of the year.

The all-conference team:

Melissa Hopper (Riverside), Lupie Janos (Fullerton), Blythe Linsey (Golden West), Jennifer Nakanishi (Irvine Valley), Shanna Renken (Saddleback), Heather Robinson (Irvine Valley), Alicia Rubio (Riverside), Raquel Ruff (Riverside), Leila Ryan (Golden West), Jamie Shine (Orange Coast), Maureen Skehan (Saddleback), Cha-Ron Walker (Saddleback).