By Bryce Ronquillo
The East Los Angeles men’s basketball team will advance to the CCCAA State Championship after beating Merritt College, 94-83.
This is the first time the ELAC men’s basketball team will play in a state championship game.
The Huskies face Saddleback College at Cerritos College at 1 p.m. The Gauchos defeated Cañada College, 75-68, in overtime.
Sophomore forward Primitivo Gomez led the way for the Huskies as he scored 23 points and collected 12 rebounds.
“I was just reading what the defense gave me and my teammates did a great job of getting me the ball,” Gomez said.
Defensively, the Huskies were able to force 19 Merritt turnovers.
“We played solid defense,” Gomez said. “We need to tighten things up when rebounding.”
ELAC allowed Merritt to pull down 27 offensive rebounds. This allowed them to stay in the game. Merritt sophomore forward Travon King pulled down eight offensive rebounds and led his team in scoring with 19 points.
The Huskies had an excellent shooting night from the free-throw line. They shot 33-for-39, 17 of them coming in the second half.
It’s all business now for the Huskies.
“I thought I would be jumping for joy, but I’m not. I’m 100 percent focused on winning this next game now,” ELAC Head Coach John Mosley said.