By Ray Hamill — A packed house at College of the Redwoods on Saturday night lifted the Corsairs to victory in their opening playoff game.

The CR men rolled from a seven-point deficit midway through the second half to defeat Consumnes River College 76-66.

With the win, the Corsairs advance to the Sweet 16 in California and they will now advance to play College of the Sequoias in Visalia on Saturday night.

“I want to give a shoutout to the crowd,” CR head coach Ryan Bisio said after Saturday’s win. “I thought they were incredibly helpful, and what a way to send these guys back on the road.”

Former Arcata Tiger Kai Purcell played a key role in the late rally, as the home team went on a 22-5 run to take control of the game.

So to did Jon Nchekwube, who has provided the team with a key presence inside all season long on the way to setting a new single-season rebounds record for the program.

Check out highlights of the big comeback above …

We’ll have much more on the upcoming game in Visalia in the coming days, as the Corsairs continue what has been an historic season for the local community college program.

After setting a new team record for most wins in a single season, the CR men will look to keep it going against Sequoias.

For more on the game, see How Sweet it is, Corsairs moving on in NorCal playoffs …