The turnaround of the Pasadena City College men's basketball program from a 1-win team last season to a state-ranked unit this season has taken on almost mythic proportions. On Friday night, the 2022-2023 Lancers ran their win streak to 10 games, something no PCC team has accomplished since the days of Jerry Tarkanian here in the late 1960s.
The state #18-ranked Lancers (16-6 overall) once again had a new player step up for the squad in defeating Mt. San Antonio, 75-58, at Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium. Now 2-0 to start South Coast Conference North Division play, PCC were caught in a defensive struggle with the Mounties, leading 42-40 with 13 minutes left. At that point, Lancers head coach Ryan Frazer sent in Caleb Gerber, a redshirt sophomore transfer guard from Golden West College (2019-20).
Gerber's hard-nosed defense, long-range shooting and overall hustle sparked the Lancers, who went to a halfcourt press on Mt. SAC (9-12, 0-2 in division) with great results. Myles Watkins started a giant run with a corner 3 off a quick pass by Gerber. After a Mounties turnover, Jonathan Tchengang made a basket-and-one on another swift pass by Gerber. Another corner trey by Watkins was followed by Gerber alertly grabbing an offensive rebound off his own 3-point miss, then feeding Nurridin Abdur-Rahmann for a layup.
Gerber was just starting things as he swished a pair of 3-pointers, and Nigel Wilson thrilled the crowd with a thundering slam, capping a 23-2 spurt over a 6-minute span that put the game away at 65-42.
Overall, Gerber scored his season high of 10 points with three assists and a steal in 14 minutes of play. Jonathan Tchengang led the Lancers starting five with 18 points (7-for-11 from the field) and 11 rebounds. Watkins scored all of his 11 points in the second half. "Deen" Abdur-Rahmann and Wilson (three blocks) each added nine points and point guard Jayden Winfrey tallied five points, six assists, and three steals.
"Caleb has shown over and over that he is ready for the moment," Frazer said. "He is the epitome of what it means to be a sophomore. He just has a calmness about him and deep understanding of what is expected of him and how to make us successful."
On the team's game philosophy, he said: "I think we have established that our focus is on defense. A lot of times we stick to just halfcourt defense, but we have the ability to turn up the pressure. Our depth really allows us to pressure and not worry about getting tired because we know we have guys coming in to contribute and keep the pressure on. Against Mt. SAC, I think it really changed the tide of the game and gave us some easy possessions to create separation."
Letterman reserve guard Brandon Torimaru took advantage of some late playing time to score eight points, making two treys. Seven different Lancers connected on 3s (12-for-29 as a team). Mt. SAC made just five from long range, but PCC's physical defense made it tough for the Mounties to get open shots.
PCC's transition offense produced 32 points off of 21 Mt. SAC turnovers.
Nick Hopkins and Jay Milner each scored 15 points to pace Mt. San Antonio.
With research still on going, the 10-game win streak is at least the longest by a PCC squad going back 54 years. PCC Court of Champions Hall of Famer and Naismith Basketball HOF great Tarkanian coached two teams that had long winning streaks when PCC won the state title in 1966-67 (35-1) and then finished state runner-up in 1967-68 (31-3). Dan Ayala's 1968-69 team finished 27-5 to win the last state title for PCC, but a game-by-game score log is currently not available to show if that squad did indeed produce a win streak of 10 or more.
"This has been a great experience that we hope to continue and are just enjoying," said Frazer. "The best part of it has been watching everyone have their moments and contributing to the success of the program. The streak has been amazing and a great accomplishment, but at the end of the day we are taking it game by game. We are focused on obtaining the remaining goals for the season.
As reported in an earlier release, the 1999-2000 team had a 12-game win streak that was reduced to seven due to playing an ineligible player.
MEN'S HOOPS WINS SCC NORTH OPENER AT LA TRADE-TECH
The Lancers snapped an 8-game, SCC North losing streak in beating host LA Trade-Tech, 85-74, on Jan. 18. A balanced attack saw four Lancers reach double figures in points, led by Watkins with 15 plus 10 rebounds and four assists. PCC had won its final conference game under retired head coach Michael Swanegan on the final day of the 2019-20 season.
Wilson added 14 points, Tchengang 12 points and Shant Chenorhavorian also scored 12 points with three steals off the PCC bench. Jordan Flowers (seven points) and John Parmeter-Zapata (four points) also made contributions in reserve.
Flowers hit three baskets during a mini 9-1 run late in the first half as PCC took a 47-33 halftime advantage. The Lancers built that lead to as much as 23 on a Gerber 3-point bomb.