Two of the top teams in the state took the court on Sunday to wrap up the San Francisco Tip-Off Classic. In the end, it was Northern California No. 1-ranked City College of San Francisco that cruised to a 94-65 victory over Southern California No. 1 East Los Angeles College.
These two teams were on a collision course during the 2019-20 season towards the state championship final. CCSF was 30-0 while East LA was 29-1 on their way to the state tournament in Lemoore before the pandemic cause the cancellation of the championship event. Many viewed Sunday's contest as a potential preview of the upcoming 2021-22 state championship.
It was East Los Angeles (2-1) that came out fast to start the game. The Huskies jumped out to a 9-0 lead to open the contest before the Rams responded with an 18-3 run of their own to take the lead. CCSF was up by as many as 14 points in the first half and went into the break holding a 44-35 advantage.
The Rams carried the momentum into the second half going on an impressive 20-0 run to open the second. CCSF held East Los Angeles scoreless for nearly five minutes thanks to strong defense and was up 79-52 with 10 minutes to go in the game.
Freshman Wrenn Robinson (Oakland, CA / St. Ignatius HS) led CCSF with 13 points while sophomore Naseem Gaskin (Oakland, CA / Bishop O'Dowd HS) scored 12 points.
San Francisco improved to 3-0 with Sunday's win after picking up victories over North No. 7 Yuba College (102-69) and North No. 6 Santa Rosa Junior College (79-53) at the tourney.
The Rams return to the court on Friday (Nov. 12) at 5 p.m. when they host North No. 17 Cabrillo College in a non-conference game.