Men's Basketball has won six of its past seven games since adjusting its offense just before the new year.  The Cougars' only setback with their new game plan came at #12 Ventura last Wednesday, 71-69.  Ventura is notorious for creating an inhospitable atmosphere for visiting teams, however the surging Cougars fell by only a basket.  Sophomore Point Guard Japjit Gill (Union City, CA) led the Cougars with 20 points and four assists, but his potential game winning three-point shot missed its mark in the final seconds.  The old adage of "play for the tie at home and win on the road" may have cost the Cougars' their streak, but definitely established a shift in the mindset of team that opened the season 3-11.  The Cougars rebounded from the setback at Ventura and picked up their ninth win of the year when they visited Oxnard on Saturday, 76-75.  2021 Team MVP Darryl Brooks II (Menemonee Falls, WI- pict) led the charge for the Cougars as he filled up his score card.  Brooks scored a career-high 27 points, while adding seven rebounds, six assists and tying his career-high with four steals.   The Cougars are now 9-12 overall and one-game behind Ventura in the Western State Conference standings with a 4-1 mark against the loop.  

Men's Basketball begins its second swing through the Western State Conference, despite not having completed the first round.  The Cougars host Santa Barbara City this Saturday for a men's and women's doubleheader, which begins with the men's game at 5 PM.  Cuesta beat the Vaqueros, 72-60, in their first-round game in Santa Barbara on January 12.  The Cougars have played every team in the WSC, except local rival Allan Hancock.  Their first-round rivalry game was postponed due to COVID protocols and the Cougars and Bulldogs are scheduled to play back-to-back games during the first full week of February.