PANTHERS MAKE FINAL FOUR! (3/11/13)
The Chaffey Panthers took control of the Elite 8 match-up with #1 Saddleback Saturday night and never looked back. Before an away gym packed with Panther fans - the CHP secured a Final Four seat! Here's the story via Angelfire:

#4 Chaffey took control of the game with a 12-0 first-half run and held a lead of at least 8 points the entire second half to capture a 73-60 win over #1-seed Saddleback and earn a trip to the state tournament for the first time under head coach Jeff Klein and his longtime assistant Jon Keller Saturday night in Mission Viejo.

In what was widely expected to be a most competitive battle, Chaffey (26-6) dictated the pace and controlled the game for most of the night. The Panther defense forced 22 turnovers by Saddleback (27-5), which had won 17 straight games entering Saturday night, mostly by controlling the tempo and taking care of the basketball.

But Saturday Chaffey took the lead midway through the first half and never let Saddleback seriously threaten to rally in the second half. And aside from a tremendous game from PF Josh Smith, none of the Gaucho starters was a factor, or at least not a positive factor for Saddleback.
Early on, Chaffey jumped out to a 13-6 lead after a 3-pointer by SG Kenny Morgan just over 8 minutes into the game. Saddleback rallied, however, putting together a 9-0 run, tying the game on a free throw by Smith with 9:22 left in the first half and taking a 15-13 lead on a reverse lay-up by Smith moments later.

But Chaffey responded by going on a 12-0 run to re-take the lead and take control of the game. SF Justin Cole tied the game with a driving lay-up with 8:10 left in the half. SG Justin Cole converted a 3-point play with 6:48 left and PF D'on Hall sank a 3-point field goal with 5:33 left to give Chaffey a 21-15 lead. A steal & dunk by PF Ryan Nitz after an outlet pass from Ctr Anthony Fitzpatrick made it 23-15. Ctr Adom Jacko scored on a putback with 3:26 left in the half to complete the run and give Chaffey a 25-15 lead.

Saddleback stopped the run with a reverse lay-up jam from Smith, and got within six points on a lay-up by PG De'Corrius Sampson-Young after a blocked shot by Smith. But Morgan scored on a driving lay-up for Chaffey just before halftime to push the Panther lead back to 8 points at 27-19 at the break.

And Chaffey led by at least that margin the entire second half, and by double digits most of the second half. The margin would bulge to as many as 16 points with Saddleback cutting the deficit back to eight points only in the final minute, by which time the outcome of the game was no longer in serious doubt.

Chaffey pushed its lead to double digits when Niang made a turnaround jumper from the free throw line to make it 33-22. SF Todd Lewis scored on a putback moments later to make it 35-22, at which point Saddleback was 1-for-8 from the floor with 6 turnovers in the second half. Nitz pushed the lead to 14 points at 42-28 after scoring off an inbounds play. Morgan then stole the ball near midcourt and went in for the lay-up to make it 44-28 with just over 11 minutes left.
Saddleback, which advanced to the state championship game after beating Chaffey in the regional final on this floor in 2009, tried to mount one final comeback. A 3-pointer by SG A.J. Brevard cut the margin to single digits at 55-46 with 4:50 left. But Niang answered with a 3-point play for Chaffey just 19 seconds later, and the Panthers maintained a double-digit lead after that until the game's final minute.

Brevard hit another three to bring Saddleback within 8 points at 66-58 with 56.1 seconds to go. But SG Carl Robinson made one of two free throws with 52.3 seconds left to make it 67-58. And Morgan grabbed a long rebound and ran out for a lay-up with about 30 seconds left to make it 69-58 and end any lingering doubt as to the game's result. SG Justin Long and Cole each added a pair of free throws in the final 18.8 seconds to close out the scoring.
For Chaffey, Morgan finished with 16 pts and added 4 rebs and 2 steals. Niang had 13 pts and a team-high 5 asts, and Cole had 12 pts, 3 rebs and 3 blocked shots. Chaffey accumulated a total of 16 steals while forcing 22 Saddleback turnovers, while the Panthers had just 8 turnovers, and only 2 in the first half.

For Saddleback, Smith had a marvelous game with 26 pts on 11-for-15 from the floor and 16 rebs, both easily game-highs. He added 2 asts, 2 blocks and 2 steals. But the other four Gaucho starters totaled just 5 points on 2-for-22 from the floor. SG McKay LaSalle, whose 6 three-pointers helped Saddleback beat OEC rival Riverside just 17 days ago, had a particularly miserable night, finishing 0-for-9 from the floor. Brevard was the only other bright spot for Saddleback, coming off the bench for 16 pts, including 4 threes, plus 5 rebs and 5 asts.

The win puts Chaffey into the state semifinals this Friday at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento. The Panthers will face #1-ranked and undefeated City College of San Francisco, led by 2-time JCHoops.com Northern California Player of the Year Delon Wright, in the semifinals.

PANTHERS TO FACE IRVINE OR SANTA ANA IN ROUND 2 PLAYOFFS (2/25/13)
The #4 seeded Panthers will face either Irvine Valley or Santa Ana Saturday night at 7 pm in the Chaffey College Sports Center. Irvine and Santa Ana play Wednesday to determine who will move on.

UPDATE (2/27/13) - Saturday night in the Sports Center, the 2013 Foothill Conference Championship Chaffey Hustlin' Panthers will take on Irvine Valley College in round 2 of the CCCAA state basketball championships. Irvine Valley defeated Santa Ana last night 69-55 to advance to Saturday's game.

PANTHERS WIN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP WITH WIN AT VVC (2/25/13)
The men completed the 2013 Foothill Conference season Saturday with a 57 point win over Victor Valley, 123-66. The win clinched the conference championship for the Panthers; Head Coach Jeff Klein's 5th conference championship since joining Chaffey in 2001.

Saturday, Ryan Nitz shot an amazing 8 for 10 from the three point line and scored a season high 28 points in less than 20 minutes of playing time. Nitz was named to the Foothill All-Conference team over the weekend.

Join the Panthers as they SHOOT OUT cancer
February 20

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PANTHERS 2-1 AT COUGAR CLASSIC (1/2/13)
The men went two and one last weekend at the Annual Cougar Holiday Classic (College of the Canyons) - falling to Foothill Conference foe Antelope Valley by two points.

12/27/12 - #8 CHAFFEY 89 - ORANGE COAST 66
The “CHP” and OCC came into the game with identical 5 game win streaks. Something had to give and the relentless full court pressure defense by the Panthers prevailed. The “CHP” went up 49-23 at the half and never looked back. The Panthers were 35/69 50.7% from the floor and 9/24 from the three point line. OCC was 22/45 FG’s and only 3/6 from the three point line. The Panthers had 26 assists to only 15 turnovers compared to the Pirates 16 assists and 24 turnovers. #8 Chaffey will now take on the home team #19 College of the Canyons in the Championship Semi-Final of the Canyons Tournament. Canyons was 65-55 winner over #12 in the state Palomar.

12/28/12 - #8 CHAFFEY 88 - #19 CANYONS 66
The “CHP” led the Western States South Conference favorites College of the Canyons 42-29 at halftime. The Cougars were forced into numerous turnovers and 1 for 10 three point shooting in the 1st half by a relentless CHP full court press. Canyons cut the lead to nine points with 16 minutes to go in the contest 53-44, but that’s the closest they would come. The Panthers went on a 18 – 2 run to go up 71 – 46 with eight minutes to go in the game.  Chaffey has been in the Cougar Classic the past 4 years. The “CHP” won the tournament the first three years and finished in third place last year. The Foothill Conference has dominated the event with the Panthers winning three and Antelope Valley winning last year’s title. There will be another Foothill champion crowned because Chaffey will play Antelope Valley for the championship at 5 PM Saturday, Dec 29th.

12/29/12 - #8 CHAFFEY 83 - ANTELOPE VALLEY 85
This was a slugfest between two Foothill Conference rivals. The “CHP” led 47 – 44 at the half. The Panthers led by as many as 11 points 71-60 with 8 minutes to play. Sophomore  point guard Mike Scott for AVC refused to let his team fall to far behind. The Sophomore had 17 pts / 9 assists and only 3 turnovers against the Chaffey full court pressure. With 2:58 remaining the “CHP” had the ball and an 82 -81 lead. Turnovers, a missed shot and some bad decisions led to AVC taking back the lead 83-82 with 40 seconds to play. Kenny Morgan got fouled with 32 seconds left and made one of two free throws to tie the game at 83 – 83. After an AVC time out, the Panthers went to a zone for the first time in the game. The Marauders looked confused and with 7 seconds on the clock the ball fell into the hands of Lucciano Gamis who was 0 -8 from the floor before he made a running 15 footer, putting AVC up 85-83. The CHP took the ball up quickly and Sango Niang found and open Ryan Nitz by the foul line. Ryan, pumped faked went by his man and pulled up for his 15 footer that went wide left. Chaffey is now 11 -4 on the season. The Panthers will open Foothill Conference play against Rio Hondo College on Saturday, January 5th at 3 PM in the Chaffey Sports Center.

CHP WIN BIG ON THE ROAD (12/17/12)
The “CHP” made the most of a long drive (4 hours) and rough weather to record their second win in two weeks over Imperial Valley. Chaffey beat Imperial Valley 86 – 68 in the Modesto Tournament on December 6th. The Panthers went up 45 – 31 at intermission. The Arabs made a run to start the second half cutting the deficit to 45 – 38. That was as close as it would get for IVC. The “CHP” went on a 27-0 run over the next 7 minutes to extend the lead to 72 – 38 and the game was over. During the run Todd Lewis and D’on Hall made two highlight real dunks. The “CHP” are now 8-3 on the season. The Panthers will play their first home game of the season vs Cypress College at 7 PM on Wednesday, December 19th at the Chaffey Sports Center.

12/5/12 - #15 CHAFFEY 63 - #3 FRESNO 64
State Champions Fresno led at the half 31-25. The CHP controlled the second half leading by as many as 7 points 47 – 40 with 9 minutes remaining in the game. Chaffey was ahead 63-59 with 33 seconds remaining when Fresno attempted a 3 point shot . The Rams missed and Ryan Nitz pulled down the game clinching rebound. Nitz was knocked to the floor and the officials called him for traveling. The Rams then hit a huge three from the deep corner with 22 seconds remaining. The CHP in bounded the ball to Carl Robinson who was fouled with 14 seconds on the clock. Robinson had both shots go in and out which enabled Fresno to take the lead. A beautiful backdoor layup and foul by State MVP Alex Perez put Fresno up one 64-63 with 5.9 to play. Fresno intentionally missed the layup and forced Chaffey big man Anthony FitzPatrick to go coast to coast. At the buzzer FitzPatrick’s jumper missed and the Panthers left the court wondering what could have been. The Panthers had 11 turnovers in this game. That was the high for all four games. This is one of the reasons for our success over the remaining 3 games. Chaffey was 5 – 25 from the 3 point line vs Fresno.

12/6/12 - #15 CHAFFEY 86 – IMPERIAL VALLEY 68
Chaffey led 43 – 37 at halftime. The “CHP” was 13 – 35 from the 3 pt line and the Panthers had 19 steals in the game.

12/7/12 - #15 CHAFFEY 98 - #14 MENDOCINO 52
The “CHP” led 48-28 at the half. The Panthers attacked the Eagles best player 6’4 Brooklyn native Kevin Charles in the first half. Charles had three fouls and zero points in the first 20 minutes. All 12 Panthers played great defense and 11 members got on the scoreboard for the game.

12/8/12 Consolation Championship - #15 CHAFFEY 95 – YUBA CITY 59
The CHP led from start to finish in this game. The State Runner Up Yuba City 49er’s ran into a buzz saw at the Modesto JC gym. The Panthers opened up a 44-24 halftime lead and never looked back. All tournament selection Justin Long continued his hot shooting hitting 6 three pointers on his way to a 26 point outing. The CHP dominated the game with their suffocating press, which led to numerous 49er turnovers and plenty of Chaffey high flying dunks.

The Chaffey Hustlin’ Panthers will play their 11th consecutive road game on Friday, December 14th at 7 PM vs Imperial Valley College. The Panthers will then play their first home game on Wednesday, December 19th at 7 PM vs Cypress College.

PANTHERS 1-2 AT NEIL EDWARDS (11/26/12)
Day 1: The “CHP” took on undefeated El Camino College in the first round of the Citrus College Neil Edwards Classic. The Panthers came out firing with Justin Long hitting three consecutive three pointers in the opening 5 minutes of the game. The “CHP” led from start to finish for the 4th straight game. The Panthers have been up by over twenty points in all four games. The halftime score was 51-38 Chaffey. The Panthers won the game by dominating a  few categories. The “CHP” won the free throw battle going 24-30 compared to El Camino 10-15. The “CHP” also won the crucial turnover factor. The Panthers only committed 9 to El Camino’s 22 turnovers. Those extra possessions gave the “CHP” a 34-65 to 29-52 field goal edge.

Day 2: The Brahmas of LA Pierce (5-1) handed Chaffey (4-1) their first loss of the 2012 season. In a back and forth first 10 minutes, Pierce finally wrangled the lead back in their favor with a little over nine minutes to go. The Brahmas largest lead of the first half would be 14 as they went into the break up 51-37. In the second half, the Panthers would whittle their deficit all the way down to two points with 10:56 to go, but Pierce answered with a 10-2 run that pushed their lead back to double digits 79-69. Chaffey made one last charge cutting Pierce’s lead to five with three minutes to go, but the Brahmas hit their free-throws down the stretch and won by eight. Pierce turned the ball over 24 times, but shot 61.2% from the field, 54.5% from three, and 87.5% from the charity stripe. More importantly, Pierce outrebounded Chaffey 40-23. Chaffey turned the ball over just 10 times in the loss. Victor Evans led the way for LA Pierce with a game high 24 points. Donte Williams added 22, and Codye Hatcher scored 15 points and grabbed a game high 12 rebounds. Sango Niang came off the bench to score a team high 23 points in the loss for Chaffey.

Day 3: The Panthers took on ELAC for the consolation championship, falling 91-88 in overtime. Sango Niang had 21 points and 9 assists.