City's Late Rally Falls Short in Regional Final

The No. 4-seeded Knights were down by as many as 17 points in the second half and nearly pulled off another comeback against 21-seed MiraCosta in a Southern California regional final, but the Spartans hung on for a 68-64 upset win to eliminate San Diego City from the postseason.

The loss was the Knights' first since December 11 as their 17-game win streak came to an end.

Taleh Wade led the Knights in scoring with 15 points off the bench and played a vital role down the stretch to help his team get back in the game. Wade made 5-of-10 3-pointers, including 4-of-8 in the second half.

Drew Cisse recorded his second straight double-double, and ninth of the season, with 12 points and 14 rebounds. He also added four steals and three blocks.

Josh Williams had 11 points, three rebounds, and five steals. Jonathan Ogugua and Makiah Morris each had 10 points.

The Knights struggled to get their offense going throughout the night, but especially in the first half. They held MiraCosta to just 27.6% shooting, but City was only able to make 7-of-24 (29.2%) in the first half. Despite the poor shooting, the Knights were only down by two at halftime.

MiraCosta, led by Julian Williams' game-high 25 points, outscored the Knights 14-3 in the first 6:41 of the second half to take a 13-point lead. That lead grew to as many as 17 with 8:49 left, but the Knights fought their way back into the game. 

With MiraCosta holding a 14-point lead with 5:31 showing on the clock, the Knights made a final push to avoid elimination. They outscored the Spartans 21-11 over the next 4:43 to get within four points with 48 seconds left after a pair of Morris free throws.

City was still down five with four seconds remaining and Cisse at the free throw line. He made the first and then intentially missed the second, got the rebound and the put-back to get within two with 2.9 seconds to go. The Knights fouled on the inbounds pass and Patrick McLachlan hit both free throws to secure MiraCosta's win.

San Diego City shot better in the second half (35.1%), but they finished the game at 32.8%, their worst shooting night of the season. MiraCosta shot 57.9% in the second half.

Although the Knights' season was cut shorter than they had hoped, it was still a very successful season after going an undefeated 16-0 to win the PCAC championship. City's leading scorer (17.0 ppg) Jonathan Ogugua was named PCAC Most Valuable Player and Interim Head Coach Andy Ground was tabbed as the conference Coach of the Year. 

Cisse (first team), Williams (first team), Morris (second team), Anthony Howell (second team), and Graham Cook (honorable mention) were selected to the All-PCAC team.

The Knights finished the season at 26-4 overall.