Men's Basketball Enters Regional Rankings at No. 14

For the first time this season, the Allan Hancock College men's basketball team is among the Top 15 teams in the Southern California region. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 14 in the Southern California Regional Poll released this week by the California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches Association (CCCMBCA). Winners of four of their last five games, the Bulldogs are off to a 10-6 start.

Fresh of its third-place finish at the Holiday Classic, Hancock returns to action Friday, January 5, at Cuesta College's Winter Classic. The Bulldogs face East Los Angeles at 1 p.m. in the first round. The Huskies are 12-3 and ranked No. 3 in this week's state poll and No. 2 in the SoCal Region. The field of the three-day tournament also features Santa Barbara, Pasadena, L.A. Harbor, Cuesta, San Bernardino and Mt. San Jacinto. San Bernardino (13-4) is ranked No. 7 in the state and No. 4 in the region.

The top-five teams in this week's state poll are San Francisco, San Diego City, East Los Angeles, Fresno City and Fullerton. Ventura, whom the Bulldogs will open Western State Conference play against next weekend, is ranked No. 20 in the state poll and No. 10 in the Southern California region.

The last time Hancock earned a spot in the regional rankings was in November 2016 when the Bulldogs were ranked No. 15 in the SoCal Regional Preseason Poll.

Sixteen games into the 2017-18 season, the Bulldogs rank fifth in the state in 3-point shooting percentage (39 percent), seventh in assists per game (19.0), and ninth in offensive rebounds per game (14.3).