Eduardo Miranda

The Daily Independent

For the second time this season, Cerro Coso men's basketball team and Citrus faced each other but the second meeting was in the Owl's Nest at Citrus College and a second-round playoff game. The No. 11 Coyotes looked to upset the No. 6 Owls for the second time this year, the first was a 78-59 home win, and continue its playoff run. In a very close game, the Coyotes were able to hold off the Owls in the second half to secure a 68-64 playoff road win and advance to the Southern California Regional Finals and a win away from playing in the State Tournament.

"First time in school history to one make it to the second round but now we are in a Regional Final," said Head Coach Chris Dugan on the win and continuing in the playoff. "To go on the road and beat a team with a winning pedigree and back-to-back Elite Eights, successful program, going into their place, I don't think we played well. We were up 15 and kind lost the lead but to get the win the guys were excited. Obviously to play at home against San Bernardino, third time and they beat us twice. You don't really need much more motivation than that."

The Coyotes are hosting the Inland Empire Athletic Conference opponent, the No. 14 San Bernardino Valley in the Regional Final. The Wolverines reached the Regional Finals knocking off Irvine Valley in the opening round and then played spoiler in knocking out the No. 3 Mt. San Antonio. The Coyotes and Wolverines met twice this season with the Wolverines coming out on top in both games. The Coyotes fell on the road 80-68 and then lost at home 83-68. Dugan spoke on playing in the program's first Region Final and facing a familiar opponent.

"The opportunity to go to the State Tournament has never been done in any other program and obviously I'm excited but its kind of surreal as I'm not super fired up. It's just another game and I feel extremely confidant because how some things have shaken out in our games," the Coyotes coach said. "But we don't want to add more pressure or sike the guys out. We just have to stick to what we are doing, be who we are, and continued to be locked in all week. As long as we go out and play really hard, we are going to put ourselves in a good spot to move on.

"We just have to clean some things up. I thought we allowed them to be tougher than us in the first two games. We struggled to score against them both times so we obviously need to make some shots. We got down against them by 13 points and then went on a crazy run and went up 17. And then we let it slip away. We had some foul trouble and other issues. The second game, we just didn't make shots in my opinion. We were right there down four with 16 to go, it was always in touch but anytime we need make a shot they made the bigger play. They got second chance points, loose balls, and they made big shots. They beat us. There was no excuse in that second game. The old adage is its very hard to beat a team three times in a year and I'm hoping that that is the case."

Cerros Coso is not only playing in its first Regional Final but the Coyotes are also hosting the game. Dugan and the Coyotes are hoping for another strong showing of fans like the opening round with plenty of noise from what is the sixth man for the home team.

"We want that place to be a zoo," Dugan said on playing at home. "We want the entire gym packed. There is no reason that we shouldn't be 1,200 people in there with only standing room. That place should be an absolute zoo and that is the benefit of Ridgecrest. We are in the middle of nowhere and they have to drive out and deal with our ruckus crowd. That is a benefit and we earned that right. I'm super excited and we have been telling everybody. We want that place packed and want them to experience us making a state tournament all together. It's something that is not just for us, its for the college, the athletic department, and for the community. Its how you build something special and if we can do that in front of them. We are knocking on the door and this is an opportunity for us to really, really get community support."

Tipoff is Saturday at 6 p.m.