This Saturday the season came to an end for the Fresno City College Mens Basketball team in a Northern-Region Playoff Semi-Final 94-84 loss to Citrus college in Ventura.

The Rams, a team that usually relies on 3-pointer’s and other big shots came out cold and stayed that way for most of the night, scoring 39.7 percent from the field and going 5-22 from beyond the three-point line. The opposing Citrus Owls capitalized on the Rams lack of scoring by putting up points early and scoring throughout the game and staying in the lead. The Owls scored 66.7 percent and went into the locker room at halftime with an 44-32 lead.

One of the big contributors for the Rams was Quinton Watkins. Watkins came off the bench and scored 31 points and brought the Rams within six points of tying the game late in the second half. Also leading the Rams in scoring were Percy Lemle with 13, and Felix Mapanda with 9 points.

The Rams held a 31-2 record and  won 26 straight games this season before losing to Citrus on Saturday night. This post season the games have been filled with many highlight reel plays courtesy of players. Fans said that they have enjoyed watching Quinton Watkins and his spins-while in the air to make a basket, as well as Alex Fletcher’s 3-point shots going in time after time. “It’s really exciting to watch,” says FCC student Maria Tarazos. “I prefer going to the games here because the action is intense and it’s much cheaper that going to the games at state.”

After a first round bye, the Rams hosted the No.15 seed Delta College and came away with an 89-77 victory where Delta led the Rams 42-41 going into halftime. The Rams opened the second half with a showcase on offense that would eventually put them ahead for good and give them the victory. In an interview with Recordnet.com,  Delta head coach Rich Ressa said that the Rams use intense pressure to wear down teams that they play. “We played a very well disciplined Fresno City team,” said Ressa.

Leading the Rams in scoring against Delta was Percy Lemle with 23 points, Quinton Watkins with 14 and Cheyanne Alcala with 11. After the game, Rams head coach Ed Madec said, “I’m really proud of the way my team played tonight, they played very well and competed very hard.”

In the Sweet Sixteen round of the playoffs the Rams played the No.7 seeded Yuba College 49ers.The 49ers are one of only two teams that the Rams lost to this season. The Rams came into the game and started off slowly on offense allowing Yuba to keep up, as well as give the crowd plenty to talk about as two Yuba players dunked early on in the game. Going into halftime the Rams held a narrow four point lead.

Going into the second half the Rams lived up to Madec’s claim that the Rams are, “The most exciting basketball around.” The Rams surged ahead in the third quarter with a 7-0 run when Watkins, who Madec claimed is the best player in the state, validated the claim by pulling a 360 degree spin for a layup to bring the entire crowd to their feet.  “I’m not surprised at all, I said it from the very beginning he’s the best player in the state and he’s proving it.”

Leading the Rams in scoring was Watkins with 22, Fletcher, Earl Jefferson, and Percy Lemle all with 11 points. The win against Yuba gave Madec his 150th win in his five seasons with the Rams as well as giving the Rams their 30th straight victory this season.

The keys to victory according to some of the Rams players were their intensity and their ability to rise to the occasion. Watkins said that what helped them win was, “Our poise at the end of the game, and how hard we played.”

This season, the Rams are in the Elite Eight for the seventh time in the last eight years. In this year’s Elite Eight, the Rams took on the No.3 seed Diablo Valley. Going into this matchup, the game plan according to Sophomore Alex Fletcher, was to, “not let them run their half court offense and keep the tempo up.”

The Rams found it hard to keep Diablo Valley from scoring early in the game, with Diablo Valley getting many open shots. With a fast paced first half for both teams the Rams went into the locker room at halftime with a 39-31 lead.

Leading the Rams in scoring were Watkins with 17, Jefferson 16, and Percy Lemle with 10.