Quite the turnaround for Pirates

Call it what you will, but Orange Coast College second-year men’s

basketball coach Steve Spencer has turned the program around, at

least for this season, so far.

The Pirates (20-12) will travel to face Mt. San Antonio (21-13)

tonight at 7 in the first round of the Southern California Regional

Playoffs after managing only seven wins last season.

Coast has won four of five games, getting valuable scoring

contributions in the last four contests from freshman Aaron Bobik,

who has averaged 18 points in that span, along with sophomores

Stephon Seales (13.7 ppg) and Lanier Brown (10.2).

Bobik (12.2 ppg), a guard, finished second to backcourt teammate

Jason Garey (12.6 ppg) in scoring, but led the Bucs in three-point

shooting (43.2%), rebounds (4.4) and steals (68), good enough to be

the only Coast player chosen to the All-Orange Empire Conference

first team.

Garey, a second-team member, finished the season with 108

three-point field goals. He broke the school single-season record of

80 midway through the season and was second in the state in treys.

Garey, who had a string during December of scoring in double

figures in 10 of 11 games, including games of 26 and 28, has tailed

off scoring-wise of late, managing only five games in double digits

in January and February.

But where one guy falls, if you even want to call it that, another

one, or two or three, is there to pick him up.

Bobik, Seales and Brown have all increased their point production

recently, giving the Bucs multiple scoring options if one guy is

having an off-night.

It helps that the Bucs have been draining shots from the free

throw line. Seales leads at 81.% followed by Garey at 74.5% and Bobik

(71.%).

Coast is also getting it done at the defensive end, collecting 325

steals (10.8 per game) to just 188 for its opponents, while tallying

a plus-six lead in turnover margin.

Bobik, Seales and Garey each average just over 25 minutes a game

with Brian Bobik and Brown running the floor for just over 20 a

contest.

Also averaging more than 10 minutes of playing time for the Bucs

this season are Bryan Williams, Alfonso James, Derron Putnam, Matt

Hatch, Dimitrius Alexander and Nykolas Peppers.

Brian Bobik, who leads the team with 10 blocks, and Brown each

have amassed 40 steals, while Alexander is shooting 50% from beyond

the three-point line.

Peppers, Brian Bobik, Brown and Garey have each played in all 32

of OCC’s games.

Sam Bailey, Kevin Stacey, Chad Vakili, David Evans, Ali Shaheim

and Andre Waters give Coast added depth coming off the bench.

Spencer doesn’t put anyone out there the entire game, or just a

minute or two. He leaves them in there to prove their worth and it

appears to be working.

Mt. San Antonio split games with Oxnard and East Los Angeles, two

teams OCC fell short to in the regular season.

The Pirates were bumped up to the No. 18 seed since Riverside was

seeded 13th and two teams from the same conference can’t meet in the

first round. If OCC comes out victorious today, they would likely

head back on the road against No. 2-seed Ventura. Whatever the

outcome of the Pirates’ voyage through the playoffs, Spencer & Co.

have already had a successful season. The rest is just icing on the

cake.

*

OCC’s Orange Empire Conference baseball opener against visiting

Saddleback scheduled for Thursday was postponed because of rain, but

will be made up today at Wendell Pickens Field at 3 p.m.