The Pierce College men’s basketball team defeated the Cuesta College Cougars, 73-58, at home in the South Gym on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
After a rough start that saw Cuesta go up 17-9, the Brahmas scored 15 unanswered points to take the lead with only 10 minutes left in the first half. After shooting guard Jalen Thomas scored the tie-breaking three-pointer with seven minutes left in the first half, the Brahmas never looked back, and Cuesta never recovered.
Head Coach Charles White said he was proud of his players for beating a playoff team despite not making it to the postseason.
“We’re not going to the playoffs, but they played a playoff basketball team,” White said. “That’s what it should have taken all year long. It is what it is.”
Shooting guard Jule Sims scored 10 points during the first half against Cuesta and would be the first to score in the second half with a jump shot, bringin the score to 35-24 just a few seconds in.
“Today, we needed a win,” Sims said. “I think we played together as a team and I really felt it today.”
In the second half, small forward Markus Steele had five rebounds and nine points. Despite committing nine fouls, the Brahmas continued to end the game strong.
Steele acknowledged that the Brahmas had a bumpy season during a postgame interview.
“Honestly, from having a really downward slope in the season and coming right back up, we’ve kind of just been up and down,” Steele said. “But today kind of reawakened what we’ve always should have played.”
Despite the Brahmas’ lead over Cuesta, the Cougars didn’t give up until the final buzzer, even when they were down by 15 points.
“The three point line has been killing us,” White said. “That’s been our Achilles all year long. Three for 14, that’s been the Achilles for the past six games that we lost.”
The Brahmas played against Moorpark College on Friday, Feb. 21 and celebrated sophomore night. They lost 117-81 to the Moorpark Raider’s, and finished their season with a record of 11-17.
Overall the Brahmas averaged about 67.4 points and 40.8 three-pointers per game, scoring a total of 1,886 points in the season.
