photo by Mike Daly
EUREKA, Calif. – The Knights are conference champions and playoff bound.
Five of Shasta College's eight players scored in double figures in a lopsided 97-56 road victory over College of the Redwoods Wednesday for the Knights' seventh straight win.
Shasta's win over Redwoods and Butte's loss to Feather River in the regular season finale gave the Knights the outright Golden Valley Conference championship, finishing 9-1 in GVC play.
"I am ecstatic about the team's accomplishment of winning the GVC championship outright," Shasta coach Kele Fitzhugh said. "They are a great group of guys that bought into the team culture, accepting their roles and embracing each other's individual accomplishments within the structure of the team dynamics. It has been an unbelievable experience."
The 97 points and 21 steals were both season-highs for the Knights. Sophomore Hunter Johnson led the way with 23 points and nine rebounds, and sophomore Blake Trent made 6 of 11 3-pointers to contribute 22 points in the win.
Sophomore Jordan Spaschak ends the regular season second in the state in assists with 193 and Trent made 93 3s on the year, which ranks fourth in the state.
Shasta held Redwoods to 15 first-half points and never looked back, scoring 45 of its own. Sophomore Zach Lowe scored 17 points and Spaschak dished a team-best 10 assists. Sophomores Grant Smith (11 points) and David O'Brien (10 points) were solid contributors off the bench.
The Knights (18-9) are in the California Community College Athletic Association Northern California Regional Playoffs for the first time since 2009-2010. Shasta was awarded the No. 11 seed, and plays at No. 6 College of the Sequoias on Friday in the Sweet 16.
CCCAA Northern California Regional Playoffs
Sweet 16
No. 11 Shasta (18-9) at College of the Sequoias (20-8)
When: Friday, Feb. 23