File photo – Jon Nchekwube

The College of the Redwoods men’s basketball team won its third straight Golden Valley Conference game on Saturday and secured the season sweep over the Knights at Shasta College.

The Corsairs won 86-79 to go to 5-1 in conference and 21-3 overall.

“Shasta gave us all we could handle today, hats off to them” CR head coach Ryan Bisio said. “This was a prime example of a tough and rugged GVC game. I’m so proud of how committed our guys were down the stretch to seal this victory.”

Jon Nchekwube continued to impress and scored a team-high 23 points in the win.

“Jon was the all-state player we’ve come to know,” Bisio said. “In our darkest moments, he provided a bucket or an important rebound. Even a crucial block shot in crunch time.”

Jett Cheong also had a good game and finished with 20 points in the win while Trey Neff added 18 points.

The win leaves the CR men alone atop the conference standings, one win ahead of Butte (4-2) with four games remaining, including a showdown at Butte in two weeks.

The CR men return home to host Lassen next Saturday at 1 p.m.

“Things aren’t going to get any easier as we proceed into the final stretch of GVC play,” Bisio said. “Teams in our league are all peaking and we must continue to come together and try to reach our ceiling before we hit the finish line.”