The Cal State San Bernardino men’s basketball team is back.

After a couple of years missing the playoffs, it looks like Coach Jeff Oliver once again has a contending team. The Coyotes chalked up a 90-82 win over UC San Diego in their CCAA opener tonight at Coussoulis Arena. That marks 90 points in back-to-back games to start the season. And they don’t even have all their players eligible yet.

Big man Kwame Alexander the 6-7 senior who earned national recognition with his thundering dunks, has to miss the first four games (academics).

Then there’s junior guard Donte Medder, a transfer from Division I Tulsa on whom the Coyotes are awaiting word from the NCAA. Oliver said he might be the best shooter of all. That says a lot because the Coyotes are 22 for 42 from 3-point range in two games without him.

The best news night be in the intangibles. The Coyotes seem to be unselfish, working the ball around to the open player. They also play smart. Both are attributes that have been missing the last couple of seasons.

Asked what the team will look like when Alexander gets back, sophomore Jamari Simmons just laughed.

“It’s going to be showtime.”

He’s right.

Alexander draws the double team. So defenders come in to defend and that will leave already good shooters open to knock down more 3’s. Pick your poison.

They move out to defend the perimeter and that give Alexander space to maneuver and that could be even more dangerous.

It’s still early but this is looking like a team well worth watching. Your next chance comes next weekend. They will be at home both Friday and Saturday against conference foes Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State Los Angeles.

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The Chaffey College men’s soccer team will hit the road on Saturday, looking to continue the most successful season in school history. But the next victory will be tough to come by as the Panthers will trek to Huntington Beach for a 3 p.m. game at No. 1 seed Golden West (17-1-3)

The Panthers (16-4-2) are the Foothill Conference champion while the Rustlers are the Orange Empire Conference champion.

Chaffey has advanced on the strength of a 3-2 win over Santa Barbara and a 2-0 win over Orange Coast while Golden West had a first round bye before besting LA Harbor 2-0.T

The Panthers have nothing to lose. The pressure is all on the other side. Hopefully they go out and lay hard and loose. They’re only county team still left playing on the JC level.

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Senior wide receiver/return specialist Yoshi Rothman earned the John Zinda Award from the SCIAC.and was one of five Sagehens named to the All-SCIAC football team.

Rothman was joined on the second team by senior running back Luke Sweeney , senior offensive lineman Kevin Ludlum, junior linebacker Kyle Roskamp and sophomore defensive back Don Swan.

The John Zinda award is given each year to a senior who best combines achievement in athletics, academics, leadership and sportsmanship and was won by the Sagehens for the season year in a row, after James Lambert earned the distinction last fall.

Rothman finished the year with team highs in catches (45), receiving yards (570), touchdowns (6) and all-purpose yardage (1,167). He caught 14 passes for 163 yards at Lewis & Clark, and had seven catches for 111 yards at nationally ranked Cal Lutheran.

Rothman was a defensive back last year, but made the successful conversion to the offensive side of the ball this season.

Pomona-Pitzer capped off the 2012-13 season on a high note, defeating CMS 37-0 to give the program its first shutout since the 2000 team defeated Oberlin 51-0. It also enabled the Sagehens to take back the Peace Pipe from their neighborhood rivals, after the Stags won the last five meetings in the annual rivalry.

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