Cañada one win from elite eight

“These slow starts have been killer for us,” Cañada head coach Matt Lee said. “We understand as the season goes deeper we don’t have time to dig ourselves out of the hole because we’re going to be playing better teams.”

The Colts (22-7 overall) now travel to San Francisco to play City College, the top-seeded team in Northern California, for a shot to advance to the state final four for the first time since 2014-15. And low-scoring games are certainly not a style City College of San Francisco abides by.

With just one non-conference loss on their overall record this season, the Rams swept through Coast Conference North play by scoring 90 or more points in eight of their 12 conference wins. Cañada’s credit held them under 90 in one of their two regular-season matchups, but still fell to the Rams both times by scores of 82-69 and 90-72.

With their backs up against the wall against No. 8 Cabrillo (20-8), though, the Colts responded. Sophomore forward Sean Orr, and guards Jumikai Williams-Choa and Vinny Ferrari fronted a balanced motion offense that totaled 15 assists. Cañada also minded the rock, committing just nine turnovers throughout.

Four different Cañada shooters scoring in double figures. Sophomore center Kaden Bradley scored a team-high 14 points, Orr had 13, and sophomore guards Noah Conner had Lovevele Schackelford each added 11.

With the Colts leading 25-24 at the half, a back-and-forth second half with a flurry of lead changes ensued. It was Schackelford who came up clutch in the closing five minutes, as the sophomore hit back-to-back midrange jumpers to put the Colts in control.

“For him to step up with his season on the line, with his Cañada career on the line, he did a great job stepping up and just living in the moment,” Lee said.

Sophomore guard Josh Blueford put the game away in the closing minute-and-a-half, scooping an errant pass off a Cabrillo offensive rebound. The Seahawks committed 14 turnovers in the game.

Cabrillo’s Trey Whitley — the Coast Conference South Most Valuable Player — scored a game-high 19 points. Yeskin Williams added 17 for the Seahawks.

Williams-Choa and Orr were Cañada’s best assist men with five apiece. But it was Ferrari whom Lee credited with making the offense move. Driving the paint and finding outlet passes all night, the Colts finally started hitting shots in the second half.

“He was doing that in the first half,” Lee said. “We just weren’t making the shots.”

Cañada hasn’t had a win against reigning state champion CCSF since Jan. 23, 2015. Since then, the Rams have won nine straight over the Colts, while going on to win state titles in 2015-16 and last season.

The winner will advance to the state championship tournament featuring the top eight teams from the state. Four teams from Northern California are vying for passage in qualifiers between No. 4 San Joaquin Delta and No. 5 College of the Sequoias; No. 2 Fresno City and No. 7 Yuba; and No. 3 Gavilan and No. 6 Santa Rosa.

In the Southern California bracket, qualifying games to advance to the state elite eight are: No. 1 Fullerton vs. No. 7 Southwestern; No. 4 Chaffey vs. No. 12 West Los Angeles; No. 8 Riverside City vs. No. 13 Santa Monica and No. 3 Citrus vs. No. 6 Long Beach City.