In the rural town of Lemoore located in Central California, the CCCAA State Championship took place at West Hills College Sunday afternoon between the Fullerton College Hornets and the City College of San Francisco Rams. The Hornets looked right at home, topping the defending champion Rams 83-73.

This was the Hornets 5th state title in school history, with sophomore guard Shaquil Bender being the star of the season’s biggest game. Bender shined on the brightest stage, earning All-Tournament MVP Honors scoring 23 points, to go along with three rebounds, a steal, and an assist. He shot 9-15 from the field while going 5-8 from the three-point land. He was a handful all game long for the Rams.

“To be honest, they must’ve not read the scouting report, because they were leaving me wide open for three. They weren’t closing out on me, leaving me open, so I am just going to shoot it and take it,” Bender said.

An honorable mention for the player of the game was sophomore guard Kobe Newton who scored a game high 25 points while hitting seven three pointers. Newton came into the title game struggling shooting from the field as of late.

“Kobe had struggled mightily in these playoffs. He’s been playing well, but he hasn’t been shooting well. I just had a feeling that he was going to explode,” Head Coach Perry Webster said. “When that first shot went down, I knew San Francisco was in trouble.”

The Hornets and Rams were in a back-and-forth battle midway through the first half with the Hornets leading the way 21-17. Then a spark ignited for the Hornets as they went on a “Kobe and Shaq” led 11-2 run over a 3-minute period to push their lead to 13. The Hornets would enter the half up 43-27, and never looked back.

One interesting note was the Hornets (32-1) ability to play great defense and set the tone for the offense. The Hornets held the Rams to`34.3% (12-35) from the field and 9.1% (1-11) from three, both being way below the Rams season averages. The Hornets were also able to force nine turnovers in the first half. Rams duo of sophomore center Mezziah Oakman and sophomore forward Te’Jon Sawyer kept the Rams afloat scoring 17 points combined in that first half.

To open up the second half, Newton hit a three right away. What would follow right after that would be a 9-2 run by the Rams (29-4) to cut into the double-digit lead. Momentum seemed to be picking up for the Rams, as they would not go away easily. The Rams had come back the previous night after being down double digits against Citrus College.

“I just really wanted to avoid fouling too much in the second half. Allowing them to stop the clock over and over again, I wanted to make sure we limited our turnovers. Even though they made a run and started making shots, we didn’t start throwing the ball all over the place, and we didn’t start fouling them every time down,” Webster said.

The Hornets dealt with heavy pressure all second half, but never folded. Bender and Newton combined for 24 points in the second half, continuing their dominance with an unsuspecting duo of sophomore guard EJ Neal and freshman guard Dante Sawyer for the Rams combining for 21 points to really keep the Rams in the game.

Things got real tight at around the 2:23 mark when freshman guard Jamir Thomas hit a three to cut the Hornets lead to just three, 76-73. The very next possession Newton hit the dagger, connecting on his last three pointer of the night to seal the victory.

This is Webster’s fourth overall state championship, but his second at the helm for the Hornets. This ring certainly puts Webster in some rare company joining coaches Justin Labagh, who has won four at City College of San Francisco, and Hall of Famer and UNLV legend Jerry Tarkanian, who won three at Riverside City College and one at Pasadena City College.

“It sounds great. I am aware of the history of California Community College Basketball, and I know that only a select group of guys have won multiple championships. To be on a list with some of those people means a lot personally,” Webster said.

For Bender, this game will be in his memories for the rest of his life and is the top moment of his career so far. Bender transferred in from Mt. SAC last semester and accomplished things he had never done before prior to joining the Hornets.

“This is at the very top right now, I’m still playing, but this is at the very top. I have never won a state championship, I’ve never cut down a net before in my life. This is just an amazing feeling,” Bender said.

Hornets freshman forward Jeremiah Davis scored 10 points, while also grabbing three rebounds. Freshman guard Sean Newman Jr. didn’t score much but was the floor general the Hornets needed dishing out seven assists. Sophomore center Sammy Howlin was huge once again defensively grabbing 10 rebounds and recording three blocks in the championship winning effort.

Oakman led the way for the Rams in the scoring department with 15 points. Sawyer and Neal contributed 14 points of their own.

The Hornets season was nothing short of spectacular, finishing the year 32-1 and ending on an impressive 25 game win streak, capping it off with the CCCAA State Championship.