photo by Mike Daly

VISALIA, Calif. – The 11th-seeded Shasta College's men's basketball team snapped its seven-game winning streak with a 75-72 loss to No. 6 College of the Sequoias Friday night in the opening round of the California Community College Athletic Association Northern California Regional playoffs.

The Knights (18-10) trailed 43-38 at half and couldn't overcome it in the end. They tied a season-high with 20 turnovers in the loss.

"It was a great season with a great group of players," Shasta College coach Kele Fitzhugh said. "It was fun to coach them and even more fun to watch them play together. I have always told them it isn't always about winning, but how you win. We want to play with character, integrity and mostly together. I believe they accomplished every aspect. They built memories and friendships that they will cherish for a long time."

Shasta shot better than Sequoias (21-8) did all game, holding the edge in field goal percentage (46-40), 3-pointers made (10-8), 3-point percentage (46-31) and free throw percentage (92-71). But Sequoias won on the boards with a 38-28 rebounding edge, including more than doubling the offensive rebounds that led to 16 second-chance points.

Sophomore Blake Trent led the Knights with 24 points on the night thanks to knocking down 6 of his 10 3-point attempts. Sophomore Kellen Gerig contributed 16 points and seven rebounds, sophomore David O'Brien scored 10 points off the bench, and sophomore Jordan Spaschak had eight points and six assists. Sophomore Hunter Johnson had a team-best nine rebounds in the loss for the Knights.

Shasta's men's team was in the playoffs for the first time since the 2009-2010 season after capturing the outright the Golden Valley Conference title this year with a 9-1 record.

Trent ends his season with 99 made 3-pointers, fifth-most in the state. Spaschak's 199 assists were second in the state this year.