Corsairs 1-1 in O’Fallon & Singui Tournament

SMC men's basketball goes 1-1 in weekend tournament as they gear up for the regular season.

Knights guard Kailen Rains (left) blocking while Corsairs forward DJ Greene (right) goes for the shot during the Corsairs homegame at Santa Monica College. November 5, 2022, Santa Monica, Calif. (Jamie Addison | The Corsair)

Corsairs shooting guard Cam Cohn (left) shooting a free throw after the Knights recieved a foul. November 5, 2022, Santa Monica, Calif. (Jamie Addison | The Corsair)

Knights point guard Lorenzo Wright (left) trying to hit the ball out of Corsairs power forward DJ Greene's (center) hand while Knights guard Kailen Rains (right) helps to block him. November 5, 2022, Santa Monica, Calif. (Jamie Addison | The Corsair)

Knights center Chase Courtney (left) attempting to block Corsairs power forward Daniel Akitoby (right) as he shoots the ball. November 5, 2022, Santa Monica, Calif. (Jamie Addison | The Corsair)

Corsairs center Quinn Collins (left) dribbling the ball while attempting to get around Knights forward Anthony Howell (right) so he can make the shot. November 5, 2022, Santa Monica, Calif. (Jamie Addison | The Corsair)

An official looks on as the San Diego City College Knights attempt to score against the Santa Monica college Corsairs during a basketball game at Santa Monica College Saturday, Nov 6 2022. The Corsairs lost the game by a difference of eleven points. (The Corsair | Anthony Clingerman)

Santa Monica Corsairs Head Basketball Coach Joshua Thomas adjusts a play during timeout in a game against the San Diego City College Knights Saturday, Nov 6 2022. Santa Monica lost the game by a difference of eleven points. (The Corsair | Anthony Clingerman)

The Santa Monica College (SMC) Corsairs Basketball team lost to the San Diego City College (SDCC) Knights 81-70 in their second game of the O’Fallon and Singui Classic on Saturday, Nov. 5. This marked their weekend tournament record as 1-1.

The Corsairs struggled with shot making, with the team going 45.8 percent overall from the field while also going 14.3 percent from the three-point line. The Corsairs also struggled keeping the turnovers to a minimum, committing 11 turnovers in the first half and four more during the second half. These missteps allowed SDCC to score 25 points off of SMC’s actions.

SMC Head Coach Joshua Thomas took note of the turnovers. 

“We have to value the ball better, and that’s something that we’re working on,” Thomas said. “We also got to make shots, we struggled scoring. We go through stretches where we don’t score and so our defense has to be really stingy, and we’re still not quite there. Some guys are still figuring out offensive roles, and some guys just didn’t perform well.”

The Corsairs outscored SDCC in the paint and got more rebounds, but SMC sophomore Center Quinn Collins took it upon himself to acknowledge he wants to be better for the team. 

“I feel like I could’ve done better rebounding, and guarding. If we do those things starting with me, then we’ll end up on top, tonight wasn’t our night,” Collins said.

SMC won the first game of the O’Fallon and Singui Classic on Thursday, Nov. 3, defeating the Los Angeles Pierce College Brahmas with a score of 84-52. The game saw good defensive performances by both teams in the first half with the Corsairs taking control in the second half — once they were able to pick apart the Brahmas’ trap defense. 

The Corsairs went in aiming to redeem themselves after their first loss of the season against the Cerritos City College Falcons on Tuesday, Nov. 1.

SMC sophomore shooting guard Cam Cohn put up a solid night in the first game — scoring 22 points, including two three-pointers and two steals in 28 minutes. 

“Coming in looking to avenge our loss from last game, I didn’t have the best performance and we didn’t as a team. I wanted to come out and do what I do best, score the ball, lead the team and get a win,” Cohn said. 

SMC sophomore point guard Chianti Clay Jr. had an exceptional night almost tallying a double-double with 10 points and 8 rebounds.

“Just trying to be aggressive, I had a slow start the first game just trying to get back into rhythm, trying to do everything besides scoring the ball when my shot is off, I made a goal to myself to try to grab a couple boards, I guess I overdid my job a little,” Clay said.

The Corsairs have six days off until their next tournament from Nov. 11 to Nov. 13. The team will play in the Alvin Hunter Classic and take on the No. 7 ranked East Los Angeles (ELAC) Huskies. ELAC has given SMC trouble in the past, beating them twice last season.