2008 Woodie Awards
Men's team wins conference title, playoff game
Hardeep Sahota
Issue date: 4/2/03 Section: College Sports
- Page 1 of 2 next >
|
Last year, the team made the playoffs, but took an early exit with a first-round loss to Diablo Valley College. Last season the team finished with an overall record of 9-20, but this year, the 49ers improved vastly with a record of 22-11.
Along with the conference title and the playoff win, the 49ers starting point guard, Brett Ost, won the Most Valuable Player award in the Bay Valley Conference. Also for the 49ers, second-year coach, Doug Cornelius was named the coach of the year in the conference. Along with those accolades, Ost, Kenny Smith and Matt Otten were named to the first team, while first-year sensation Lawrence Wright was named to the second-team.
The 49ers were hosting their first playoff game in Yuba history. In the game against Modesto, the 49ers pulled out a thrilling 96-86 victory. Ost scored 21 points in the second half on his way to a game-high 24 points.
The game, however, wasn't won easily by the 49ers. Modesto led at halftime by eight points, 49-41, and built that lead up to 14 in the second half, 57-43. That lead would soon dissipate with Ost leading the 49ers surge.
Ost said he was never afraid when the team went down by 14 because they were playing at home and they have been in that situation before.
Ost began the surge with free throws, which seemed to spark the 49ers as they took a four point lead, 63-59. After that, Modesto seemed to lose its focus and never recover.
Other top scorers for the 49ers were Otten with 20 points and Wright with 17. Wright, returning from a broken hand, had a thunderous dunk that ignited the 49er faithful into a flurry of cheers.
Modesto's lead was mostly built because of the 49ers inability to rebound, which resulted in a lot of second chance points for Modesto. Coach Cornelius decide to put a zone defense in the second half that he said helped the 49ers rebound more efficiently.
In the second-round game, the 49ers fell to a powerful Hartnell team, 84-70. The thirteenth-seeded 49ers were led by Wright's 22 points with Ost scoring 12 and Smith adding 11.