PUNCHING TICKETS TO THE STATE TOURNAMENT!

The No. 1 Fullerton College men's basketball team punched its ticket to the 3C2A State Tournament at home Saturday defeating No. 9 Chaffey College 86-61.

Saturday's win advances the Hornets to the State Tournament for the 20th time since the program began in 1916. The first time Fullerton went to the "Dance" was in 1952 (a fourth-place finish), which was the first year the tournament was held under the 3C2A in Visalia, California. This is the 5th time Fullerton has made it to the State Tournament in the last 9 seasons under Head Coach Perry Webster.

The 2025 3C2A State Tournament will be held at Mt. San Antonio College March 13th through 16th. The Elite Eight will feature the best basketball talent in the state, let alone the country. Representing the North will be San Francisco, West Valley, Las Positas, and Cosumnes River. Repping the South will be Fullerton, Citrus, San Bernardino Valley and Cerritos. 

The old adage holds true tonight that defense wins championships as Fullerton's top-ranked defense rattled Chaffey's No. 2 in state offense holding the Panthers to 61 points. Prior to tonight's game, Chaffey was averaging a stellar 101.3 points a game.

The Panthers came out swinging first hitting a three-pointer to ring in the game, but Justin Davis clapped back with a trey of his own on Fullerton's next possession. All knotted up at 16-16 in the 12th minute, the Hornets took off on a 17-2 run that was capped off by a nice little jumper by Jaqari Miles. Up 33-19 by the 8th minutes, the Hornets let up a little as Chaffey went on an 11-3 run to pull within 3 points (33-30) by the 4th minute. Both teams locked horns for the final minutes of the first half, but the Hornets ended it 43-38 thanks to a jumper by Kairi Shepherd.

The fight for momentum continued into the second half, until Fullerton broke loose with another big run. With FC up 50-47 in the 15th minute, the team extended its lead to 64-51 by the 9th minute. Three minutes later, the Hornets took over the game on Jaqari Mile's three-pointer with a 71-53 advantage. The FC defense kept the Chaffey shooter off balance forcing their opponents to take low percentage shots. Fullerton grew stronger as the game went on taking its biggest lead the game (25 points) in the final minute as the team secured its ticket to the big 3C2A State Dance. 

It was a true team effort as Fullerton had four players that scored in double-digits with Jaqari Miles leading the pack with a game-high 20 points. Addy G'Bye (9 rebounds) scored 14 points, Kairi Shepherd dropped in 13 points, as did Justin Davis (6 assists). Joe Grahovac scored 9 points, had 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks. Jackson Hopps had 7 points with 7 assists, while Anthony Smith Jr. scored 6, including an exclamation dunk for the final two points of the game.

Up Next: The No. 1 Hornets (28-3 overall) will travel a short distance up the 57 Freeway to Mt. San Antonio College where they will play in the 3C2A State Championship Tournament March 13-16. Update! The No. 1 South Hornets will take on No. 4 North Consumes River on Thursday, March 13th at 7:00 pm. The State Bracket

Watch ALL state tournament games online for just $12.00* per day. https://baosn.tv/cccaa/