It doesn't happen very often, but the county took a beating Wednesday night, when the three men's basketball teams were swept to begin WSC North play.

Hancock (14-4, 1-0), Cuesta (13-6, 1-0) and Los Angeles Pierce (4-8, 1-0) broke out on top of the WSC North standings with wins.

Moorpark (4-12, 0-1) was actually within one possession down the stretch at Hancock, before the Bulldogs survived, 78-70. Hancock was only WSC North team in the Southern California regional coaches' poll this week at No. 12.

Meanwhile, both Ventura and Oxnard squandered halftime leads in key home games.

Ventura led 42-36 prior to a halftime buzzer-beater from Cuesta's Malte Kramer. Oxnard led Los Angees Pierce at the intermission, 33-25, and missed a potential game-winning buzzer beater.

Moorpark coach Remy McCarthy's words proved prophetic earlier in the week.

"Pierce has really good talent," said McCarthy on Tuesday. "They're capable of beating anybody even thought their record might not show it."

Saturday's end-of-season clash between the Ventura College and Oxnard College men's basketball teams promises to be one of the more unique Western State Conference showdowns.

With a win, first-place Ventura (21-7, 9-2) can complete its two-year probation with the best record in the WSC North.

"All the teams will know who was the No. 1 team this year," said Ventura sophomore James Ennis.

After losing in overtime, 93-91, Wednesday night at Los Angeles Pierce, Oxnard (16-8, 8-3) probably must win to make the postseason.

"This is not how this season is supposed to play itself out," said Oxnard coach Jason Cunningham after the Condors lost Wednesday without injured star Scooter Holmes.

At 8-3, Oxnard and Hancock enter the final day of the regular season tied for second place. Since Ventura is ineligible for the WSC North championship, a tiebreaking procedure may be needed to determine the division's automatic postseason berth.

The conference's basketball bylaws state that the coaches survey the teams' postseason criteria and determine which would be the higher seed.

"We can only send one automatic qualifier and the league decides that," said Moorpark coach Remy McCarthy. "The coaches will vote."

With an 86-77 win over visiting Cuesta Wednesday night, the Moorpark College men's basketball team finished its season 9-17.

Although the win total is the program's lowest since 1992, coach Remy McCarthy was proud of his young team.

"It's awfully hard for me to be upset with these guys in any way shape or form," said McCarthy. "I've got nothing but praise for my guys. I know it's a bottom-line industry, but these guys never quit working and nobody turned on each other.

"We're looking forward to having the majority of them back next year."

With returning freshmen like Jamal McClerkin and Coltrane Powdrill, who combined to average 36 points per game, the Raiders look loaded for 2011-12.

The short-term nature of two-year college athletics almost ensures that community college basketball has a year-to-year cycle.

But it's really difficult to watch the Moorpark College men's basketball team and not imagine the type of team it can become in the long term.

With a backcourt of Jamal McClerkin and Coltrane Powdrill, who are combining to average nearly 40 points per game, shooter Tarek Fattal, who had four big 3s in Wednesday's 84-78 win over Santa Barbara City, hustling role players like guard Greg Parker and forward Toki Oshodi and forward Alex Romero, who is averaging 11.2 points and 6.9 rebounds, the Raiders have a strong Class of 2012.

"We have the makings of something really special here," said Powdrill.

But the Raiders aren't willing to just look to next year.

"I really want to get the most out of both seasons," said McClerkin, the point guard from Chaminade. "We can do a lot of things this year."

Moorpark (6-9), which improved to 1-0 in the WSC North Wednesday, may be improving fast enough to give teams like Ventura and Oxnard a run this season.

"We're right there knocking at the door," said coach Remy McCarthy. "We're not freshmen anymore. We're not make the same mistakes we made earlier in the season."

With potential tournament semifinals against the host school, the Moorpark College men's and women's basketball teams find themselves in similar positions this week.

"We're the spoilers," said Moorpark women's head coach Lindsay Goldblatt.

The Moorpark men (5-5) will face host Glendale (8-3) tonight in the semifinals of the Vaquero Classic.

McCarthy expects Glendale to compete for the Western State Conference's South Division.

"They'll be right in there with Santa Monica and Citrus to win that league," said Moorpark men's head coach Remy McCarthy, "you mark my words."

If the Raider women (7-2) were able to get past Cypress Thursday's quarterfinals, they looked set to face No. 11 Antelope Valley (6-4) for the second time in a week tonight in the semifinals of the AVC Holiday tournament.

Through 10 games, the Moorpark College men's basketball team's dynamic freshman backcourt duo of Jamal McClerkin and Coltrane Powdrill have combined to average nearly 40 points, 11 rebounds and six steals.

"Those two have put up some pretty impressive numbers," said coach Remy McCarthy. "I'd hate to think where we'd be without them."

But the sentiment holds for another pair of freshmen Raiders who have combined to score just 62 points.

Greg Parker, a 5-foot-8 guard from Granada Hills High, and Olatokunbo "Toki" Oshodi, a 6-3 forward from Valencia High, haven't needed long to absorb the type of defensive commitment McCarthy asks from his players.

"They just comes in and energize us," said McCarthy. "They gets their hands on balls. They're on the floor. They're taking charges. They're closing the gaps defensively."

Continuing a trend of conference rivals being drawn in first-round playoff games, the Moorpark College men's basketball team (16-10) earned the No. 17 seed in the Southern California regional playoffs Monday afternoon and will visit No. 16 Los Angeles Pierce Wednesday night in the quarterfinals.

"They don't protect the first round," said Moorpark coach Remy McCarthy. "We knew that going in.

"My only gripe is I know Pierce is a good team. I'd like to take my chances with some of the other (teams).

"But it'll be fun. Short drive. There will definitely be a lot of people fired up about it over there, that's for sure."

Not critical, but crucial.

That's how Moorpark College coach Remy McCarthy described a pivotal Saturday in the Western State Conference North Division men's basketball race.

"To me, when you pick a school to go to, this is why you go," said McCarthy. "To play in a game that really is meaningful."

Second-place Moorpark (12-7, 4-1) hosts first-place Cuesta (18-4, 4-0) at Raider Pavilion this afternoon at 3. Fourth-place Oxnard (9-10, 2-2) visits third-place Los Angeles Pierce (9-9, 3-1) in the first game at the renovated Brahma Gym at 7 p.m.

Depending the results, Cuesta could have a two-game lead, Moorpark could take over the top spot or all four teams could be separated by one game come Sunday morning.

"It really gives us a chance to go into the second round of league with a lot of momentum," said McCarthy, whose team will complete the first round of conference play. "It's just one of those games that you have to look at as crucial."

Behind sophomore guard Roger Guardia, who has scored 23.8 points per game in WSC North play, Cuesta has won its first four WSC North games by an average of 11 points. Only Oxnard (76-74) and Ventura (60-53) kept the margin inside single digits.

The Cougars have also beaten Moorpark in five of their last six meetings, including three straight at Raider Pavilion. But the Raiders may be playing their best basketball of the season, having won three straight, including a two-game sweep of county rivals Ventura and Oxnard last week.

McCarthy called on his team's defense to halt the streaking Cougars.

"You see a team that scores very well, certainly in four positions with a steady point guard," said McCarthy. "You have to sort of take that personally. It's like a guy coming in your back yard and beating you in a game of horse.

"When guys can really score, that's something you can do about that. You can make it tougher on them."

Moorpark College men's basketball coach Remy McCarthy wasn't sure the Raiders could muster a three-game winning streak without forward Ryan Islas, who was leading the WSC North in shooting percentage when he dislocated a thumb earlier this month.

But that's what Moorpark brings into its WSC North showdown against Cuesta Saturday afternoon, when Islas is expected to return.

"I didn't know if that could be accomplished without Ryan," said McCarthy. "Wendell Antoine deserves a tremendous amount of credit. He's really stepped up."

Antoine stepped right into Islas' frontcourt role, averaging 13 points and seven rebounds in wins over Ventura, Oxnard and Hancock over the past two weeks.

"I'm not opposed to playing him, Mike and Ryan together," said McCarthy.

It wasn't just the rainy weather that made Remy McCarthy wary of his trip to Santa Maria Wednesday night, but his Moorpark College men's basketball team responded with an 84-70 win over host Hancock to pull within a half game of first-place Cuesta in the Western State Conference's North Division.

"We're in the middle of conference (play)," said McCarthy. "If you can't (perform) in the middle of conference you need to find another line of work."

Dallas Rutherford had 23 points, Wendell Antoine had 17 points, Mike Meza had 15 points and Spencer Schulte had 11 points for Moorpark (12-7, 4-1), which had a rare off night at the free throw line, making only 17 of 30.

"It was raining all day," said McCarthy, "but it's nice to come up from here and get a win."

While the first-place Cuesta College men's basketball team (18-4, 4-0) rests Wednesday night, second-place Moorpark (11-7, 3-1) hopes to build on a landmark last week, when the Raiders achieved a rare sweep of county rivals Ventura and Oxnard, at the WSC North's basement team, Hancock (2-15, 0-3).

"It was two really good wins last week," said Moorpark coach Remy McCarthy. "But we feel like there were things that we could have done a lot better... There's a lot of room for improvement."

Moorpark's focus will be tested in Santa Maria. McCarthy finds himself on the lookout for a letdown.

"You look at the team's record and you relax," said McCarthy. "You just can't do that. They're going to do anything to get a win.

"We just know we have got to go up there and give the same kind of effort we did last week."

The Moorpark College men's basketball team isn't just coming off a 21-point home loss to Los Angeles Pierce, it has some injury problems entering Wednesday night's visit from cross-county rival Ventura.

"We've got some physical problems," said Moorpark coach Remy McCarthy.

Starting forward Ryan Islas, a 6-foot-3 Oxnard High product who had a season-high 14 points last week against Santa Barbara City, is out with a dislocated thumb. Starting point guard Matt Mazarei also missed Tuesday's practice with an apparent hip injury.

Both would be big losses. Islas leads the WSC North and is No. 6 in the state in field goal percentage (69.0 percent). Mazarei, who McCarthy called Mazarei "questionable" Tuesday, is the quarterback of the Raiders' offense.

"You know Matt," said McCarthy. "He's going to say he's ready to go with half an arm."

Sophomore forward Wendell Antoine will step into the lineup for Islas and guard Kyle Olandt, who had 18 points off the bench last week against Santa Barbara, is Mazarei's capable understudy.

Moorpark still has powerhouse forward Mike Meza. The Simi Valley High product is scoring 19.1 points per game to lead the Western State Conference. He's also No. 6 in the state.

From my quick WSC North basketball preview, which ran in today's paper, here's Moorpark College men's basketball coach Remy McCarthy on the WSC North men's basketball race:

"It's as wide open as I've ever seen it. Certainly, I think you have to put Cuesta as the favorite at this point. But I look at teams like Pierce and Oxnard... I've got to believe they're going to be a problem."

McCarthy pointed out that Pierce (5-8) fell at No. 3 Citrus by one point, 71-70, on Dec. 29 and Oxnard (7-8) beat defending state champion and then-No. 1 Riverside on Dec. 17.

"We're excited going in. We think we match up with everybody reasonably well. For the most part, we've been able to score throughout the year and that's how you win basketball games, pretty much."

Featuring former Simi Valley High star Mike Meza, who is averaging 19.1 points per game, and Cal State Northridge transfer Dallas Rutherford, Moorpark (8-5) opens tonight at Santa Barbara City (4-10).

"From our perspective, there's nobody we can look at and say, 'Well, there's an easy one.' (Tonight) is huge. We're opening on the road. It's one we feel we need to have."

From my quick WSC North basketball preview, which ran in today's paper, here's Moorpark College men's basketball coach Remy McCarthy on the WSC North men's basketball race:

"It's as wide open as I've ever seen it. Certainly, I think you have to put Cuesta as the favorite at this point. But I look at teams like Pierce and Oxnard... I've got to believe they're going to be a problem."

McCarthy pointed out that Pierce (5-8) fell at No. 3 Citrus by one point, 71-70, on Dec. 29 and Oxnard (7-8) beat defending state champion and then-No. 1 Riverside on Dec. 17.

"We're excited going in. We think we match up with everybody reasonably well. For the most part, we've been able to score throughout the year and that's how you win basketball games, pretty much."

Featuring former Simi Valley High star Mike Meza, who is averaging 19.1 points per game, and Cal State Northridge transfer Dallas Rutherford, Moorpark (8-5) opens tonight at Santa Barbara City (4-10).

"From our perspective, there's nobody we can look at and say, 'Well, there's an easy one.' (Tonight) is huge. We're opening on the road. It's one we feel we need to have."

The Moorpark College men's basketball team will tip off against defending state champion Riverside in the final of the Rancho Vista Shootout at 5 p.m.

Despite blowing a 18-point halftime lead, Moorpark (4-3) opened up a four-game winning streak with a 88-77 win over Canyons.

"We lost that lead against Canyons, and they're real good, so it was real easy to fold the tent," said Moorpark coach Remy McCarthy. "To come back like that (was great)."

After the Cougars had come back to the tie the game, Moorpark's Kyle Olandt scored seven points on consecutive possessions by following a 4-point play with a 3-pointer.

"He'll be able to build on that the rest of the year," said McCarthy of the Westlake High product.

Moorpark College men's basketball coach Remy McCarthy has found his assistant. The Raiders have hired former Cal State Northridge director of basketball operations Ryan Dodd, who previously coached at Servite and St. John Bosco high schools.

"We really feel fortunate to have him available at this particular time of year," said McCarthy. "He's been at Cal State Northridge and anyone that knows Bob Braswell knows he's incredibly demanding."

Dodd won CIF and state basketball titles as a Servite High player, before walking onto the UCLA football team in 1992 and playing basketball at Cypress College in 1995-96.

"He's the kind of guy that's going to spend all his time in the gym," said McCarthy. "He's going to be able to recruit the Valley for us, which is critical.
"We're lucky as heck to have him."

The application deadline for the vacant Ventura College men's basketball head coaching position was Friday.

Camarillo native and Rio Mesa High graduate Ed Madec, who led Fresno City College to a state championship in 2007, said Friday that he did not apply.

Under Madec, who played for current Moorpark College coach Remy McCarthy at Oxnard College, Fresno won its first 34 games this past season before falling to eventual state champion Riverside in the state quarterfinals.

Several local coaches reported that interest in the position seemed to come more from the high school and Division I levels than community college.

Nebraska assistant Phil Mathews, already inducted in the VC Athletic Hall of Fame for guiding the Pirates to state championships in 1987 and 1995, has applied, although he is also in the mix at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

The San Luis Obispo Tribune reported last week that Mathews was among several coaches with Division I head coaching experience to apply for the Mustangs job, including former San Diego coach Brad Holland, former St. Louis coach Brad Soderberg and CSU San Bernardino coach Jeff Oliver, the former Buena High star and VC assistant coach.

Moorpark College men's basketball coach Remy McCarthy on squeaking into the Southern California regional playoffs as the No. 20 and final seed and playing No. 13 Antelope Valley in the regional finals:

"We're in it, baby."

(on getting a second chance after almost seeing the bubble burst Saturday with a 81-79 loss to Oxnard)

"It absolutely is. There's no doubt about it. It's a chance for redemption. We didn't like that feeling we had Saturday night. We have a way to alleviate it. We just have to go do it.

(On AVC)

"They beat San Bernardino Valley three times and they won at Riverside. They're a good team. They've got a coach with a lot of state tournament experience. He's been to two state finals and won one.

"We've absolutely got our hands full."

(on the field)

"There's a number of teams that can win it, including Antelope Valley, by the way.
If I'm going to give you a team to watch, it's San Diego City -- another team in our bracket by the way -- because of Malcolm Thomas. He's a major force."

"He can dominate a game."

(more parity)

"(Defending state champion) Citrus has been consistently good all year but they haven't been blowing anybody out and they lost to Santa Monica. That tells you everything you need to know."

(on Moorpark making the regional final last time it was in this position as a No. 20 in 2005, upsetting Cerritos and Mount SAC along the way)

"Exactly."

The Moorpark College men's basketball team can expect a boost in its final game of the regular season. The Raiders will welcome back head coach Remy McCarthy, who expected to miss the rest of the season after spinal surgery Dec. 31, for their home game against Oxnard Saturday.

"If I was going to come back for any game, it would be (tonight) for the sophomore's last home game," said McCarthy Wednesday, when he attended the Ventura at Oxnard game without a neck brace.

Third-place Moorpark (17-10, 7-4) isn't out of the WSC North picture.

The Raiders, looking to improve their postseason credentials with a home win over fourth-place Oxnard (13-15, 6-5), can share the title with a win combined with Ventura and Cuesta losses.

Which isn't completely out of the question, considering the events of Jan. 28, when Hancock defeated Ventura, 64-59, and Cuesta needed a 23-5 second-half spurt to survive Pierce, 54-48.

With their fathers looking on, Pacifica High senior Annabel Davis and Camarillo High freshman Samantha McCarthy both scored six points Tuesday night in the Pacifica High girls' basketball team's 47-26 win at Camarillo Tuesday night.

Moorpark College men's basketball coach Remy McCarthy and Moorpark College athletic director Howard Davis have spent much of the last decade working together, first on the Raiders' coaching staff, then in the Raiders' athletic department.