Cuesta College's Oscar Pedrosa and Antelope Valley College's Ryan Wright lead their respective teams into Western State Conference play beginning tonight. Cuesta College photo by Jay Thompson. Antelope Valley College photo by Bruce Jacobsen.

January 8, 2014

Western State Conference Men's Basketball Conference Preview

A preview of the Western State Conference Men's Basketball teams as conference play begins tonight.

WSC North

Despite having just two teams that are headed into conference play over .500, the Western State Conference North Division is shaping up to be a battle nearly night in and night out. State #20 and SoCal #10 Cuesta College (11-7) is the only ranked team once conference play begins on Wednesday night, but that doesn't mean the Cougars won't face any challenges. Cuesta has won three straight, including two wins over fellow WSC North schools and are led by sophomore Oscar Pedrosa who leads Cuesta in scoring and is 3rd in the WSC North averaging 18.8 points per contest. The early favorite to give Cuesta the worst time is Allan Hancock College (9-8) who has shown promising glimpses, but starts conference competition having lost four of their last five. The Bulldogs will lean on the WSC North's leading scorer in guard Teyvon Myers who is averaging 24.5 ppg.

Behind Cuesta and Hancock are a trio of very talented squads, that if they put it all together and make a run could make some serious noise. You can never count out Ventura College (7-9), College of the Canyons (6-7), or Los Angeles Pierce College (6-10). All are supremely talented and have players who can take over games. For the Pirates that player is Ivan Dooley who is averaging 15.9 ppg and is 6th in the conference in scoring, while the Cougars' Ilya Ilyayev is 4th in the conference in scoring (16.8 ppg) and 3rd in rebounding (6.3 rpg). Pierce meanwhile has Terrel Funches who is averaging 21.4 ppg the 2nd best mark in the WSC North.

Despite struggling to 4-8 and 1-10 records respectively during pre-conference play, it's never wise to discount either Moorpark College or Santa Barbara City College. The Raiders' Shaquille Moore is nearly averaging a double-double at 16.6 ppg and 7.9 rpg, while the Vaqueros boast promising freshman forward Prince Arceneaux 10.1 ppg and 5.5 rpg.

WSC South

The Western State Conference South Division is quietly shaping up to be one of the best in all of California. Five of the seven teams are at least three games over .500, and four of the five are currently ranked in the latest Southern California Coaches Poll, with the fifth receiving votes. Glendale College (12-2) is off to its best start in recent memory and are ranked #15 in the State and #7 in the South. Sophomore Gor Plavchyan paces the Vaqueros with 17.8 ppg and 10.1 rpg. Newcomer Antelope Valley College (15-3) is an early favorite and are ranked #6 in the State and #2 in the South behind the play of Daviyon Draper (13.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg).

Santa Monica College (11-3) will also be a contender thanks to their impressive experience and depth. It never hurts to be home to the conferences leading scorer in the form of sophomore guard Keilian Horton (20.2 ppg). After missing out on the post-season the past couple of years, Bakersfield College (10-5) Head Coach Rich Hughes seems to have his Renegades back and ready to contend, as they have a trio of scorers in Corey McDonald-Mitchell, Lawrence Moore, and Van Holloway who all rank in the WSC South Top 10 in scoring. Bakersfield is ranked #13 in SoCal in the latest poll. We're four teams in and we haven't even mentioned usual power Citrus College (7-4) who is looking to make it eight straight years in the playoffs and searching for their fourth conference crown. The Owls are led by super freshman forward Chris Reyes who is second in the conference in scoring and leads the WSC South in rebounding.

Under first year Head Coach Chris Acker, formerly of Citrus, West Los Angeles College (4-10) is showing some promise after a year off from competition. Moreover the Wildcats have won three of their last five, and have promise in guard Brandon Hood (11.9 points and 2.8 assists per game). While their record may not show it, it is always dangerous to count out Los Angeles Valley College (0-12) and Head Coach Virgil Watson. The Monarchs are home to the conferences 4th leading scorer in Andrew Estes (15.8 ppg).