A swarming defense and relentless attack leads FCC to victory

The Fresno City College Men’s basketball team came out focused and took a 102-61 victory against the Modesto Pirates in the first round of this year’s playoffs.

The win was a complete team effort for the Rams who were led by 30 points from Marcus Hall as well as Tomas Sanchez and Shailo Leafa who controlled the game by managing the pace of the game.

Sanchez and Leafa ran the floor causing Modesto to loose focus and also slowed the game when necessary.

The All Central Valley Conference Freshmen of the year Alex Perez also contributed on the defensive end. “He hands down deserved it,” said teammate DeAndre Madlock. “ He put in the hard work to achieve that award. Perez is by far the most skilled freshman in the CVC.”

Modesto’s offense was no match for FCC’s swarming defense. “The first playoff game was intense. We had to be prepared for anything since teams usually play better in the playoffs,” said Madlock. “Although we beat Modesto by a substantial number, the game was a game of execution which meant we had to get better at every aspect of our team.”

As the Rams applied the full court press, the pirates had difficulty getting across the half court line.

The first half was full of questionable fouls which led to the crowd quickly becoming less than pleased with the referees.

Pirates head coach Paul Brogan earned a technical foul which put Tomas Sanchez on the line for two. After the technical foul, FCC lengthened the lead with free throw shots from multiple foul calls against  the pirates.

FCC’s Co-Central Valley Conference players of the year Marcus Hall and Tomas Sanchez were on fire in the second half.

Hall finished the game with seven three pointers while Sanchez continued to control the game on the defensive and offensive end of the court.

Hall was also named defensive CVC player of the year.  Rams head Coach Ed Madec was honored by the Central Valley Conference, being named Co-Coach of the year.

The second round of the NorCal Regional Conference could be a challenge for the Rams who are ranked No. 5 in the NorCal regional conference. They are scheduled to play No. 4 ranked Diablo Valley College.

“Our main focus is offensive execution and playing Fresno City defense,” said Madlock  “We have a war on our hands and it’s going to be ugly.”