Men’s Basketball
Irvine Valley’s men’s basketball’s winningest season came to and end three points away from its first appearance in the state tournament.
The Lasers (27-5), who entered the playoffs seeded No. 6, sailed into the postseason with 33-point, 29-point and 16-point victories over Santa Ana, Cypress and Saddleback, respectively, to finish second in the Orange Empire Conference. They finished the season ranked No. 7 in the state and No. 3 in Southern California.
In the regular season, IVC averaged 80.8 points per game while giving up 64.1 points per game. The team was led in scoring by Kashif Watson, who averaged 13.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists. Blake Wallace chipped in a average of 12.6 points and 6.9 rebounds. Bryce Webster followed at 11.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 64.2 percent from the field.