The Fresno City College men’s basketball team defeated Yuba College 77-62 to take their fifth state championship in college history on Sunday. It was also the second state title for head coach Ed Madec.

In a first half filled with intensity and excitement, both teams traded shot for shot. Yuba rebounded well on the defensive end of the court, but faced problems as it appeared the Rams defense was too much to handle.

FCC switched back and forth from a full court press and a zone defense. Madec’s perpetual substitutions, often substituting all five men, wore on the 49ers as the game went on.

The second half was controlled by FCCs ability to slow the game down and cutting away at Yuba’s chances to mount a comeback. At one point, the Rams expanded the lead to 16 points.

FCC sophomore captain Tomas Sanchez entertained the crowd with two alley-oop passes to freshman Alex Perez.

Rams sophomore DeAndre Medlock joined Sanchez with a fast break dunk that electrified the gymnasium and shifted momentum to the Rams, silencing the 49ers fans.

“We were just fortunate to get some good bounces and our defense kicked in the second half and we were able to control the boards better,” said Madec. “They dominated us on the glass in the first half, but we found our rhythm, calmed down, got the nerves out and we were fortunate to get it done.”

Rams guard Alex Perez, who led FCC with 17 points, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player along with fellow guard Marcus Hall who was named to the All-Tournament team.

“Glory to God. Without him none of us can be here. And we have the best coach in the country. He makes us work harder than anybody,” said Perez. “We’re a brotherhood. We love each other. We go to work for each other every day. All the 6 a.m. workouts, all the ten liner days, the days on the track, the days in the weight room paid off.”

The Rams came into the game with added motivation as they felt they didn’t get the respect they deserve.

“We feel disrespected because we beat them in the regular season and they got a higher seed than us. We came in here, we had something to prove and we proved it,” said Hall. “We’ve been waiting for this all year. We work harder than any team in the country so to finally get this feels great. These guys are going to be my brothers forever.”

Though the Rams often made it look easy, Madec says the season and the match against Yuba was a grind. “Yuba College is a class operation,” said Madec. “Coach Cornelius has done a wonderful  job with his team. We have so much respect for his team. They gave us a real fight. It was a lot of work but it was all worth it in the end.”