Dan Cromar/Roundup
Most students spend winter break actually taking a break.
Basketball players are not most students.
The men’s basketball team wraps up a solid winter this week, taking an 11-11 overall record and 6-3 conference record into the spring semester.
This is a vast improvement over their marks from last year, when they posted an 8-15 overall record and a 1-7 conference record.
The 09-10 season started off looking like it could be a repeat of last year. The Brahmas brought a 5-8 record into conference play, which started out with a loss to Cuesta College.
Things quickly changed, however, as the slow start suddenly turned into a six-game winning streak, with Pierce scoring wins over Moorpark, Santa Barbara, El Camino, Ventura, Oxnard and Alan Hancock. The Brahmas also managed to put up 81 points twice during that stretch.
Since then, they have lost twice, once to Cuesta and once to Moorpark.
The team has been lead by sophomore guard Ever Lopez, whose 215 total points are the most on the team. Sophomore forward Malcolm Collins has the second most with 168.
Lopez also leads the team in free throws made (79), steals (51) and points per game (9.8). His 142 assists are first by 97 (Daniel St. Hubert is second with 45).
Other key players are Collins (168 points, 7.6 points per game, 110 rebounds), freshman forward Jeremy White (153 points, 66 field goals, .532 field goal percentage, 109 rebounds), and freshman center Michael Aguilar (121 points, 6.1 points per game, 82 rebounds, 4.1 rebounds per game).
Looking ahead, the Brahmas will play three of their final four games at home. They will host Santa Barbara on Feb. 6, then Ventura on Feb. 13. The Brahmas will then hit the road, Oxnard on Feb. 17, and wrap up the regular season at home against Alan Hancock on Feb. 20. All games are at 7:00 p.m.
The first round of the playoffs will begin Feb. 26-27.
Additional reporting by Tyler McGee