Old teammates face off, Inglima wins the war

QUINCY, Calif. -- It was just over a year ago that Vince Inglima, Ryan Buttner and Adam McKenzie ended their careers at Carson with a zone semifinal loss to McQueen.

All three were back on the court together on Saturday, only this time Inglima and his Cabrillo College Seahawks were playing against Buttner and McKenzie, who play for Feather River.

Inglima, who lost to his former teammates in a game on Nov. 29, got the final laugh this time around as the Seahawks scored a big-time upset with a 87-74 win in overtime in the first round of the Northern California Community College Playoffs at Feather River College.

Inglima scored 22 points and nailed a 3-pointer with under two minutes left in overtime that gave Cabrillo, the 28th seed in the tournament, the lead for good. The Seahawks, who came into the postseason with a 13-17 record, will play Skyline on Wednesday in the round of 16. Last year's Sierra League Player of the Year won't let Buttner and McKenzie forget about this one.

"I avoided them successfully. I kind of stayed away from the answering machine (over Christmas break)," said Inglima, whose team lost to Feather River 82-68 at the Diablo Valley Classic. "This time we came away with it. We kind of got lucky."

Inglima, who averaged around 17 points per game this season, was named to the second team of the Coast Conference-South in his freshman campaign.

Buttner, though, didn't have too bad of season, either. Despite going scoreless in Saturday's game, he was named first team all Golden Valley Conference and had a record breaking year. He broke the school record for 3-pointers made in a single season by hitting more than 140 of them. The old record was 115. He hit 13 3-pointers in a 119-93 win over Butte last Saturday, which set a school and GVC record. The streaky shooter just wasn't on against the Seahawks, even though his old coach, Bruce Barnes, was in the stands to see the only players he's had at Carson play in a college game.

"We didn't expect that," Buttner said. "We couldn't hit any shots. I couldn't hit any shots. I just wasn't on today."

The Golden Eagles, which were the No. 5 seed in Northern California, finish the season 23-9 and had their hopes of playing the final eight in San Diego later this month dashed.

"I think we have a good chance to get to San Diego," Buttner said prior to the game.

Not with Inglima on the court, though. McKenzie, who has played a limited role off the bench this season, hit a 3-pointer with 8:30 left in regulation that got Feather River within one point of the lead, 56-55. He assisted on a Larry Brackins' basket a possession later that gave the Golden Eagles a 58-56 lead, one of only a handful they had the entire game.

"My role's a lot different than it was last year when I was at Carson," said McKenzie, who earned all league honors as a point guard for the Senators. "Now, I just try to make the most of time and play good defense. The level is a lot higher (than high school). Even the guys on your own team, there's a lot of competition."

Both Buttner, a 6-foot-4 guard, and Inglima have realized their chances of playing Division I ball are well within reach. McKenzie, meanwhile, plans on perhaps walking on after his next season. All three plan on returning for their sophomore seasons.