The San Diego City College men's basketball team opened the 2016-17 season at home with the 11th annual Knights Invitational tournament and got past Barstow on Friday and Citrus on Saturday before falling to Fullerton in the championship game on Sunday night.
The Knights faced Barstow in the opening game of the tournament and came out on top with an 88-74 victory. City pulled away midway through the first half with a 14-1 run and held a 13-point halftime lead that would be extended to as many as 19 points in the second half.
Sophomore guard Jahmere Mitchell had a game-high 17 points to go with five rebounds and three assists. Sophomore guard Darien McClain added 12 points and three assists off the bench for the Knights.
The semifinal game vs. Citrus on Saturday evening was tight throughout the first half with neither team going ahead by more than four points, but the Knights came alive early in the second half with a 12-1 run to turn a two-point deficit into a 42-33 lead with 12:58 remaining.
City remained aggressive and blew the game open as the Knights went ahead by as many as 22 points and ended up with a 74-60 victory to put them in the tournament championship game for the second time in the last three years.
Sophomore guard Romario Wilson came off the bench to score a game-high 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting and four rebounds. Freshman guard Wonder Smith had 10 points and sophomores Jahmere Mitchell and Alex Wilbourn added nine points a piece.
In the title game on Sunday night against Fullerton, who dispatched L.A. Harbor and Mt. San Jacinto on the way to the final, the Knights found themselves down 34-30 at the break. City took a 36-35 lead early in the second half on sophomore forward Robert McCoy's steal and windmill dunk, but the Hornets responded with a 7-0 run.
The Knights got within two points at 46-44 with 11:14 remaining, but Fullerton used an 11-2 run to gain control of the game and eventually pull away for a 76-65 win that earned the Hornets the tournament championship.
Romario Wilson once again came off the bench to lead all scorers with 20 points and Darien McClain added 13 points. Both Knights were named to the all-tournament team.
Fullerton's Johnathon Ross had 14 points and nine rebounds, and was named tournament Most Valuable Player. His teammate Ian Fox added 17 points off the bench and was also named to the all-tournament team.
Barstow, who won the consolation championship, had Jordan Rogers Garcia named to the all tourney team along with third place Citrus' Jeremy Smith.
