Vaqueros Win 5th Straight at MPC Tournament

MONTEREY, Calif. - SBCC Men's Basketball continued its strong early-season play Thursday night, defeating host Monterey Peninsula College 60–56 in the opening round of the Monterey Bay Classic. The win marked the Vaqueros' fifth straight victory and improved their record to 6–2 on the season.

The Vaqueros found themselves in an early hole, trailing 23–13 midway through the first half. SBCC responded with an impressive run to close the period, outscoring MPC 20–5 over the final stretch. Freshman Jack Berry sparked the surge, scoring eight points during the run. Berry finished the night with 14 points and five rebounds, helping the Vaqueros take a 33–28 lead into halftime.

"MPC plays a very effective matchup zone and they mix in other zones with it," said head coach Devin Engebretsen. "No matter how much we can prepare in practice for it, it takes some game time to really understand how to attack it. Once we figured it out, we started putting the ball in the hole."

SBCC maintained control for much of the second half and extended its lead to 56–45 with 6:30 remaining. The Lobos, however, refused to go quietly, finishing the game on an 11–2 run to cut the deficit to just two points with 18 seconds left.

Sophomore James Reach sealed the victory at the free-throw line, knocking down two clutch foul shots with 10 seconds remaining. Reach delivered a well-rounded performance, recording 10 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

With the victory, the Vaqueros advance to the semifinals of the MPC Classic, where they will face Solano College at 5 p.m. on Friday.