Men's Basketball enjoyed a pair of wins at the Hancock Christmas Classic last weekend. The Cougars opened the tournament with win in their re-match against Hartnell, 92-64.  The Cougars beat the Panthers by only three points, 102-99, in Salinas before the break, but dominated their second meeting behind Drew Ardouin's game-high 24 points. On the second day of the tournament, the Cougars squeaked past Chabot, 79-76, on the strength of Juani Dassie's outside shooting and Mason Romano's monster double-double.  Dassie scored a game-high 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the floor, including five three-pointers, while Romano netted 19 points and grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds.  Romano is currently averaging 16.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.  The Cougars are 9-7 on the season.  

The Cougars play two games this week, including their first home game since December 17.  They open WSC play by hosting Santa Barbara City on Wednesday (7 PM) in a men's and women's double header and the head to #7 Ventura on Saturday (7 PM) for another WSC twibill.  Coach Rusty Blair is an eight-time WSC Coach of the Year and has led the Cougars to 11 WSC titles.