Yuba gets redemption, stays in BVC hunt

Royal Edwards saw his former team hit rock bottom.

He saw the Yuba College men's basketball team, just a year off from earning a spot into the Elite-8, get embarrassed three weeks ago at Alameda College in a 76-57 trouncing that epitomized the numerous problems afflicting the 49ers — shooting, defense, rebounding and team chemistry.

So after what Edwards, a University of the Pacific player, saw from his alma mater Wednesday, he is as qualified as anyone to issue the statement the 49ers proved in a 74-50 trouncing of the Cougars — "they have turned it around."

"It was a lot better," Edwards said.

And that could be considered an understatement. The last time these two team's faced off, the 49ers couldn't manage a single scorer in double digits. Derrick Brown led with seven points —five of which were free throws — and the defeat marked the 49ers' fourth loss in a row.

"That was probably the lowest we've been," Yuba coach Doug Cornelius said. "We were doubting ourselves; doubting our team."

On this night Tyler Monroe would own the paint and it's surrounding airspace on the way to a game-high 21 and Cervante Burrell added 14 points. Add in healthy play from a host of other contributors like Kyle Newman (five points with six steals) and Bobby Evans (six blocks) and the 49ers easily notched their fifth consecutive win.

"These guys have really come together," Cornelius said. "They're playing for each other and they have a goal in mind to win this league."

And what they did to the Cougars is a major step in that direction. Going into the contest, the 49ers (18-8) had a 6-2 league record as did Alameda and Napa Valley — the other top team's in the Bay Valley Conference.

"We've been talking about this game all week," Monroe said. "I think we made a big statement going into the second half (of league play)."

That statement was punctuated by Monroe's play — above and below the rim. In the first half he was instrumental in establishing the tone of the game with eight points in the first four minutes. But where he truly shined was during a 1 minute stretch in the second half.

At 17:29 Monroe made a powerful one-handed jam from the right baseline. At 16:51, he repeated the motion from the left baseline. And after giving the crowd two reasons to go crazy, he put the 49ers' fans over the top on an alley-oop feed from Burrell that he slammed down with authority at 16:33.

"That was great, it was a perfect set-up," Monroe said. "It couldn't get any better than that."

Perhaps the only thing that was more entertaining was Evans in the paint. He swatted the ball six times, including one that denied the Cougars a sure-fire dunk and whipped the 49ers' bench into a frenzy.

"That kid is amazing," Cornelius said. "How about when he blocked that dunk — are you kidding me? He said 'not in his house.'"

The 49ers dominated from the onset by going on a 16-4 run to start the game. The closest the Cougars would come to evening the score was a 18-8 deficit with 9:26 to play in the first half and a 25-15 margin 3 minutes later.

It allowed the 49ers to cruise the rest of the game, which was a welcome pace for Cornelius, who coached his second game after filling in for a suspended Steve Sain on the women's side.

"I think I was more stressed in the women's game," Cornelius said.

Which is easy for him to admit when everything is starting to go right for the 49ers.

"Our practices our better; were more efficient; guys are working harder," Cornelius said. "It's been great and it shows."

Yuba College hosts Mendocino on Friday at 7:30 p.m.