SBVC (24-5) proved why they are the number four seed in Southern California with a big second round victory over pesky thirteen seed the Valley Glen Los Angeles Valley Monarchs (16-12), 87-76.

Foothill Conference MVP, sophomore guard Kirby Gardner (Rialto Eisenhower), was the leading scorer for SBVC with 27 points on 10 of 20 shooting.

With the victory SBVC advances, hosting a third round matchup versus #12 seed Ventura, on Wednesday, February 29 at 5:30 p.m.

During the first half, SBVC maintained an average 43.2% FG with an 8.3% 3-point FG%. Freshman forward Xavier Jones (La Verne Lutheran) led SBVC with four defensive rebounds and three offensive rebounds during the first half. While sophomore forward Aaron Moore (Compton Manuel Dominguez) earned his spot on the court with three offensive rebounds and two defensive rebounds.

SBVC was able to up their team in the second half FG% to 51.6%, with a 44.4% 3-point FG%. SBVC took advantage of the turnovers the Monarchs were giving, scoring 11 extra points. The Monarchs weren’t able to catch a break and were never able to maintain a strong lead throughout the entire game, but were able to tie the game up at 61-61 during the last minutes.

Sophomore guard Kirby Gardener (Rialto Dwight D. Eisenhower) finished with an amazing eight defensive rebounds, two steals, and went 10-20 scoring 27 points total. Sophomore guard Justin Stanley (Oakland J.W. McClymonds) also held the team together with 10 total points, eight defensive rebounds, and a steal.

SBVC was given a little extra help by the players on the bench, adding 15 points to the scoreboard. Freshman guard Cammeron Lewis (Fontana Summit) came off the bench and scored 11 total points, with two steals, and four defensive rebounds. SBVC also added points to the scoreboard while shooting from inside the paint with 30 points.

This article was written by Danielle Schmidt.