Knights Claim Outright PCAC Championship!

After clinching at least a share of the conference title two nights ago, the No. 7-ranked Knights claimed the outright PCAC championship on Friday with a 91-67 home win over MiraCosta. It is the second time in the last three seasons that they have earned the top spot in the conference and the ninth PCAC title since 2005.

Mitch Charlens, who has been at the helm since the 2004-05 season, has now led San Diego City to eight of those championships. Andy Ground was the interim head coach for the 2021-22 team that went undefeated in conference while Charlens spent the season coaching at USD.

Alex Crawford turned in his second-highest scoring output of the season on Friday with a game-high 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting to help the Knights win their eighth straight. He has scored 11 or more points in the last seven games. 

Four others also scored in double figures, including Kevin Moore who tallied 17 points for the second straight game, and Al Green who added 16. 

KJay Bradley's 13 points marked the 26th time in 28 games that he had reached double figures. 

Keavie Love scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half to lead the bench effort.

With MiraCosta looking for a win to share the conference title with the Knights, the tension was high from the start as both teams struggled to score in the first few minutes. MiraCosta missed its first five shots and San Diego City did not make a field goal until its eighth attempt. 

That's when Crawford stole the ball and drove in for a fast-break dunk 4:35 into the game that energized the largest home crowd of the season, an estimated 535 fans. He followed that up with a 3-pointer two possessions later that seemed to get the Knights back on track offensively. 

The first half was tight throughout with five ties and nine lead changes. MiraCosta took its largest lead, 28-22, with 5:19 left before halftime, but Bradley knocked down back-to-back jumpers and later hit a 3 in the midst of a San Diego City 15-6 spurt to close the half.

The Knights attacked the paint at the start of the second half and used a 15-2 run in the first 3:32 to turn a 37-34 haltime lead into a 52-36 advantage. City shot a poor 35.1% in the first half, but nearly doubled that in the second half as they made 67.9% to pull away. 

San Diego City only missed nine of their 28 2nd-half attempts and stretched its lead to as many as 28 with 7:13 left.

As impressive as their 2nd-half shooting was, the most remarkable stat of the night was the one turnover they committed on Friday. It was the least amount they've had all season and the fifth time that the Knights have kept their turnovers under 10.

San Diego City connverted 13 MiraCosta miscues into a 21-0 advantage on points off turnovers.

Bradley, Crawford, and Moore tied for a team-high six rebounds a piece. 

The playoff-bound Knights will now wait to see what seed they will receive for the CCCAA Southern California regional tournament. That announcement is expected to be made by Sunday afternoon.