The Los Medanos College Mustangs men’s basketball team ended the season in a 72-83 loss to San Joaquin Delta College Mustangs in the first round of the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Northern California Regional Championship.

The LMC Mustangs qualified for the CCCAA NorCal playoff after finishing in third place in the Bay Valley Conference (BVC) standings, below Yuba College and Mendocino College, which finished in first and second place, respectively. LMC men’s basketball earned the overall number 17 seed in the regional playoffs.

Going into the first round of playoffs, LMC finished with an overall record of 20-8, and 11-5 in conference play.

The 20-8 LMC Mustangs were matched up against the 18-10 SJD Mustangs. Los Medanos College played away in Stockton on Wednesday, Feb. 26.

In the first half of the game, LMC was able to outscore San Joaquin Delta for a score of 41-33 at half time. In the second half, however, San Joaquin out scored LMC 31-50, for the final score of 72-83 in favor of the Delta College Mustangs.

LMC was able to score points from eight different plays. Five players achieved double-digits. Henry Sires led the team with 15 points, Keenami Maggart registered 12 points, Zack Martinez and Charles Stanford totaled 11 each, and Damarshe Ragler hit 10 points. The three other players who scored were DJ Serna with seven points, and Nnamdi Vixon and Duben Boardman each scored three points.

LMC were able to convert 46.2 percent of the field goal attempts, going 30-65 in shots on the court. They scored five and missed 13 three-point attempts, recording a 38.5 percent completion rate. From the free throw line, LMC converted seven shots while missing 16 . The LMC Mustangs also totaled 16 turnovers, 19 personal fouls, 15 offensive rebounds, and 26 defensive rebounds.

LMC went into their playoff match with a tough end to BVC play. The LMC Mustangs went 2-3 in the final five matches, including a two-game win streak against Napa Valley College and Contra Costa College to finish the regular season. On Feb. 7, LMC hosted the College of Marin in a down-to-the-wire 75-76 loss.

Wednesday, Feb. 12, LMC traveled to College of Alameda and lost 82-97. Friday, Feb. 14, LMC lost 74-80 away to Mendocino College. In the final home game of the season on Feb. 19, LMC won Napa Valley College 80-74. To close the regular season, LMC faced Contra Costa College in a dominating 98-64 win.