When Ryan Frazer was hired as Pasadena City College men's basketball head coach 11 months ago, the expectations of the 2022-2023 Lancers were not high and certainly he would have been given kudos even by producing a double-digit win season following the program's horrific 1-26 run in 2021-22. Instead, Frazer and his assistant coaching staff of Harrison Haynes and Spencer Nunes had loftier goals.
The team's 81-57 rout at Rio Hondo College on Wednesday night drained the batteries on the win improvement meter. Try a staggering 1,900 percent improvement by the state's now #17-ranked Lancers as they reached the 20-win mark for the first time since 2013-14 (21-10 record).
Not only that, PCC (20-7 overall, 6-1 in league play) can capture a share of the South Coast Conference North Division title if it can defeat #7-ranked and first-place East Los Angeles (22-3, 7-0) on Sophomore Night on Friday, Feb. 17 at Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium.
A co-title could be the first conference championship by a Lancers team in 23 years. Since PCC joined the South Coast in 1986-87, the program has just one title to its credit in 1999-2000 when the Lancers were North Division co-champs with then state power Los Angeles City College.
ELAC handed the Lancers their only conference loss, 83-73, on Feb. 1.
PCC will honor its seven sophomores--returning lettermen in Jordan Flowers and Brandon Torimaru and transfers Rande Harper, Jonathan Tchengang, Jayden Winfrey, Nigel Wilson, and Caleb Gerber--in a pre-game ceremony immediately following the conclusion of the women's game (begins at 5 p.m.) After the ceremony, the teams will do their usual 15-to-20 minute warmup prior to the scheduled 7 p.m. tip-off.
Against Rio Hondo, Tchengang led five Lancers in scoring double digits with 18 points plus 12 rebounds. Wilson added 15 points, 12 boards and three steals and freshman Myles Watkins scored 13 points.
Off the bench, Harper totaled 12 points while Flowers reached double figures with 10 points, the first time he's done that since the second game of the season when he scored 13 in a loss v. Ventura.
Winfrey dished out 10 assists to go with three points, five rebounds and two steals. Winfrey is currently third in the state in assists average at 6.4 per game.
PCC is eighth in the state in team defensive points allowed at a 65.4 points average. The Lancers are fifth in turnovers forced against opponents (18.3 average) and tied for 11th in steals at 9.7 per contest.
The Lancers started out the season 1-3, then 6-6 before rattling off now 14 victories in their last 15 games.
The team's plus differential v. opponents in this streak is 186 points with the average win differential a 12.4 more points difference.