Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — It’s been a rollercoaster of a season for the College of the Redwood men’s basketball team and one the Corsairs will be hoping to keep going when they play their California Sweet 16 game at College of the Sequoias on Saturday night.

After starting the season 1-5, the CR men then put together an eight-game winning streak, before following that with five losses in seven games and then winning eight of nine to get to where they are right now.

Which is on the verge of history, as they look to become just the second-ever Golden Valley Conference team to make it to the Elite Eight state tournament in Los Angeles next weekend.

Of course, this tenacious group of players have already made some history together, so why not add to that on Saturday night.

With victories in their first two playoff games, head coach Ryan Bisio and his players, who are seeded No. 22 in the 24-team NorCal bracket, have become the lowest seed to make it this far in the postseason in 21 years.

In short, this group of Cinderella Corsairs epitomize the best part of March Madness.

“You can feel the passion these guys have right now,” Bisio said. 

And you can see it in the way they’re playing and the manner in which they have embraced this historic run, which comes in the wake of seeing a bid for what would have been an historic fourth straight conference title fall just short.

We didn’t even know if they would make the postseason and now they’ve become the story of the postseason.

The Corsairs, of course, have been here before. 

This is Bisio’s third trip to the Sweet 16 in the past four seasons, although this time around they did it by winning back-to-back road games against higher seeds for the first time.

Which makes us believe maybe this year will be different and maybe this time they can make it all the way to the state tournament.

“This is the third time this program has been on the doorstep,” Bisio said, referring to the Elite Eight. “We’ve knocked politely. Tomorrow we’ve got to kick this thing down.”

North Coast fans will be watching and hoping third time is the charm for one of the best coaches in California JC basketball and one of the most consistent programs in the state, one that continues to hang with the big guns despite battling the odds in a small rural community.

The players themselves are performing with a supreme confidence right now and have led for almost the entirety of their two playoff games, catching favored higher seeds off guard each time.

They have kicked those doors down pretty emphatically.

Every team is special in its own way and this year’s group of tenacious Corsairs are no different as they look to make their own chapter of history for the school.

Asked what he will remember the most about this year’s team — which could yet be a trip to the Elite Eight — Bisio responded without hesitation.

“I think it’s how far we’ve come to get to this point,” he said. “And to be where we are right now, that’s a lot of ground to cover. We’ve had some big swings and the swings I think is what I’ll remember about this team, and how connected they are right now.”

Those swings included a lot of growing pains, but this group of Cinderella Corsairs have continued to evolve together and are playing as well as a unit as perhaps any of Bisio’s previous success stories at CR.

They’re playing their best ball of the season at the right time and have developed a keen understanding of each other, something reflected in their recent performances.

“I think the thing that’s come together for us the most is finding a better baseline of emotional stability,” the coach said. “And our communication with each other has been so much better, and it’s allowed us to play the kind of basketball we need to play.”

That includes some dynamic 3-point shooting and a quick transition game, something they will need to have working well if they are to knock off a third straight higher seed on the road on Saturday night.

There are no easy matchups at this stage of the season and Sequoias will present a huge challenge.

“They’re masters of controlling tempo,” Bisio said. “They’re the No. 1 defensive field goal percentage team in the state, they’re the No. 1 rebounding team in the state, and they’re the No. 1 shot blocking team in the state, so they really can impose themselves on you physically.”

To counter that, the Corsairs will have to be “quick and nimble,” according to the coach, and they’ll have to be on fire from downtown, as they have been for much of the season, while hoping the math adds up in their favor.

The game, which tip off at 7 p.m., will be streamed live on the College of the Sequoias YouTube page, and there will be a viewing party in the Thirsty Bear Lounge at Bear River Casino and Resort.