SBVC Men’s Basketball Team Beats RCC and Advances to CCCAA State Finals – Press Enterprise

SAN BERNARDINO – All Miles Oliver wants is to be able to contribute to his team in a moment of need.

Oliver came off the bench and scored 18 of his playing-strong 22 points in the second half as San Bernardino Valley College clinched a 66-62 win over Riverside City College in Saturday night’s California Community College Athletic Association regional title game in Southern California.

“The points came because the team was ready,” said Oliver. “I’m just glad I was able to be there this time because I know the team relied on me.”

A graduate of Etiwanda High and a bounce-back transfer from Chicago State, Oliver has recovered from a lower body injury and has not played more than 15 minutes in 10 appearances this season.

“(Oliver) has been hurt and injured all year but everyone knows he is a phenomenal player. He’s a local so it’s an honor to see a San Bernardino County product take this team back to the state finals,” said SBVC coach Quincy Brewer.

The 6-foot guard finished 7-of-13 from the field with five rebounds, two assists and two steals for San Bernardino Valley (26-5 overall) advancing to the CCCAA State Finals at West Hills College in Lemoore next week.

Pushed into the goalscoring role in the absence of Dominique Daniels, Oliver kept coming to the basket in the second half, sinking back-to-back three-pointers to keep the game close in front of the Wolverines’ defense and stay clear. Throw shooting could seal the win.

“(Oliver) has worked so hard all season. It’s finally starting to pay off for him,” Brewer said.

Daniels, who led the Wolverines by more than 22 points per game this season, suffered a dislocated left ankle in the regional semifinal win over Cypress late Thursday.

“When (Daniels) went down, I wasn’t thinking about points. I was thinking more about winning and taking this team to the state finals,” said Oliver.

SBVC went 11-0 early in the game, but Riverside put on a 9-2 run and equalized 15-15 midway through the first half before going into halftime with a 31-27 lead.

North grad Edwyn Collins made two 3-pointers and had 10 of his 14 first-half points as Riverside (23-8) led by up to nine in the second half before toning down the stretch.

“We’ve stopped doing the things that got us 13 straight wins and doing some of the things that got us here,” said RCC coach Philip Matthews. “The margin of error in a game like this is very small.”

Chester Makoi, SBVC 7-foot center, had seven blocks from his second straight double-double of the playoffs (11 points, 14 rebounds), and guard Anthony Bell had 15 points in 40 minutes that were a game-high.

Small forward Armon Muldrew was 4 for 4 from the free throw line late in the game and scored 13 points.