49ers ousted in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO — For 20 minutes it looked possible.

The Yuba College mens basketball team was clicking. The 49ers were up 44-39 against the No. 6 team in the state. Their third straight Elite 8 birth was on the horizon.

But the city by bay proved to be the final stop for the 49ers playoff run after City College of San Francisco played a stellar second half and sent Yuba home a game short of their goal with a 98-87 semifinal loss on Saturday.

"We went into the second half with a lead that's what we wanted," Yuba coach Doug Cornelius said. "They came out in the second half and just like that they tied it up. They shot the heck out of the ball in the second half."

Chibuzo Emeka led the Rams with 31 points scoring and Steven Brown poured in 15 points — all 3-pointers — to anchor a stout CCSF offensive attack that proved to be too much for the 49ers to handle.

"Honestly that's the most athletic team I have ever played," Yuba's Bobby Evan's said. "That was something different. They could do what we could do."

Cervante Burrell led Yuba with 15 points, Keenan Prince had 13 points and Bobby Evans and Mayse Walker added 12 points for Yuba.

But it just simply wasn't enough. Especially after a second half where nothing seemed to go right for the 49ers.

In less than three minutes, Yuba's lead had turned into a deficit as the Rams started to drive the lane and draw fouls. At 17:08 the 49ers had already committed four fouls. It was a problem that was only compounded by their inability to hit field goals.

A beautiful drive by Kyle Newman that resulted in a three point play at 13:55 was the 49ers first basket of the half. But it was a by Newman 55 seconds earlier that many thought should have been Yuba's first points of the second period.

Down by 47-44, Newman sunk a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired only to have it waived off by the officials.

"A couple of calls went against us," Cornelius said. "That shot that Newman hit that was called back was just brutal."

After Newman's And-1 effort, the points started to come more sparingly for Yuba while they continued to fall for the Rams. Brown drained three of his 3-pointers in less than two minutes as part of a 10-2 run that gave CCSF a 61-49 lead with 11:07 to play.

"It's absolutely killed us," Cornelius said of Brown's shots, of which he hit 5-of-6 attempts. It broke the game open."

The Rams would never again let the lead fall into single digits as they continued to draw fouls and head to the line, where Emeka amassed 16 points in the second half.

It was an off night for Yuba's Tyler Monroe and Tristan Wilson. Monroe, who's strong play has carried the 49ers this season, finished with nine points. Wilson, who was the spark of last year's Elite 8 run, didn't make his first basket until the final minute of the game and would finish with six.

The first half was much better for Yuba. Keenan Prince scored all of his points in the half while displaying a tremendous amount of hustle and a smooth 3-point stroke by draining three shots from beyond the arc.

"A monster first half," Cornelius said of Prince. "He was just hitting his shots. He played his butt off."

It was also an impressive outing for fellow freshman Bobby Evans, who at times looked unstoppable down low.

"We've been waiting for it for the last month," Cornelius said of Evan's scoring. "He stepped up tonight and that's what we have been waiting for."

The solid performances by the freshman were a highlight on a night that ended in immense disappointment for the 49ers. The tears flowed and the sophomores said their goodbyes while all wore exasperated looks on their faces.

But in the minds of many, this season was still a success for Yuba.

"I'm not crying," Evans said. "I think we had a good season. I'm happy with our season. Only one team can win it all."