Drummond Scores 31 to Lead Sacramento City to State Title

Sophomore guard Ken Drummond scored 31 points to lead Sacramento City College to a 77-71 victory over City College of San Francisco, and its first state community college men’s basketball championship, Saturday night at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

Drummond, the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, was 14 of 28 from the field and 3 of 5 from the free-throw line in the championship game. He also had 5 assists and 7 steals. The 5-foot 11-inch Drummond averaged 30 points, 8 assists and 9 steals in five playoff games.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” said Mike Says, Sacramento coach. “We’ve been here four years thinking we were going to win it and we finally did.”

The Panthers (27-7) used a full-court press and a quick 2-3 zone to force 26 Ram turnovers. San Francisco (31-3) turned the ball over 14 times in the second half.

Sacramento opened a 26-14 lead with 11:03 left in the first half, but the Rams closed the gap mostly on the play of sophomore center Dean Garrett. He scored 18 first-half points, but hurt his ankle 4 minutes into the second half. He returned for a short period after the injury, but did not score.

With Garrett on the bench, the Panthers were able to take advantage inside. Forwards Rhodney Moore and Henry Clark combined to score 30 points, 20 in the second half.

“They outplayed us,” said Brad Duggan, San Francisco coach. “We were stupid and they were smart. They were mentally ready to play and just did a good job.”

The loss ended the Rams’ 23-game winning streak.