Sean Lynch: Merced College guard hit Lowe point

Never an overly emotional guy, John Lowe is determined to have the coolest head on the court from now on.

The Merced College point guard learned just how costly one momentary loss of control can be.

The sophomore returned to the Blue Devil lineup last week after serving a five-game suspension for touching a referee.

The incident occurred in Merced College's second game at the 72nd annual Modesto Junior College Tournament at the end of December.

Lowe had already been jawing with the referee in question, following what he thought should have been a foul call.

"As a shot went up, I started to get back on defense," Lowe said. "I turned my head to see if we got the rebound and when I turned back I ran into the referee.

"He thought I did it intentionally, so I was kicked out and suspended. I feel like he could have gotten out of the way, but it's my fault too for arguing with him.

"Sitting out those five games, knowing I could be helping my team, was real tough. I've learned my lesson. I'm just going to play games and let the referees do their jobs."

Road Warriors

Talk about a road trip.

After hosting the annual Merced College Coca Cola Shootout to open the basketball season, the MC women's basketball team played its next 16 games on the road.

With the budget crisis forcing teams to cut games from their schedules, Lady Devils head coach Allen Huddleston decided his team would get the best experience out of playing in more tournaments than just individual nonconference games.

The road trip finally came to a close when MC hosted Porterville last Saturday -- a span of 53 days in between home contests.

The reprieve, however, is short lived with the Lady Devils opening Central Valley Conference play as the away team in three of their first four conference games.

Must Win

Despite suffering an early unexpected conference loss to Porterville, College of the Sequoias (1-1 CVC, 11-8) remains the Lady Devils' biggest challenger for the No. 2 playoff spot out of the CVC.

Huddleston said because of the depth in the Big 8 conference this season, the CVC can't hope for more than two playoff spots.

Neither team can afford a second conference loss this early, making tonight's showdown in Visalia all the more important. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.

COS has already handed MC (1-1, ) a 57-56 loss in the Fresno City Tournament earlier in the season.

The key for the Lady Devils will be taking advantage of the 24 turnovers a game that COS averages.

Best of the Best

Merced College had seven football players earn first-team Golden Gate Conference honors.

Wide receiver Eddie Beavers, tight end Kyle McMillin and offensive lineman Admir Mujakovic were all named to the offensive team.

Safety Dion Bland, linebacker Tim Tisdale and defensive end Jericho Leota earned defensive honors.

Sophomore Fabian Miramontes was named the conference's punter of the year.

Freshman running back Emmanuel Brooks and safety Bernard Bolden each received honorable mentions.

As an added bonus for the MC football team, seven of the nine players recognized will be returning next season.

Sean Lynch is a Sun-Star sports writer. He can be reached at 385-2476 or via e-mail at slynch@mercedsun-star.com.