Menifee youth basketball team places second in tourney

Photos by Jason Hendrix

The Menifee Youth Basketball Division C team finished second out of 16 teams Sunday in the Southern California Municipal Athletic Federation tournament. In only the first year of the program, Menifee advanced all the way to the championship game before losing to Rancho Cucamonga, 29-24.

Playing in the Inland Empire division of the SCMAF, Menifee defeated Fontana 3, Fontana 1 and Riverside 1 to advance to the finals of the tournament, which was held in Norco.

"The team fought extremely hard and unfortunately, the shots just weren't falling," said Jason Hendrix, community services supervisor for the City of Menifee and commissioner of the league, after the championship game. "They came in second out of 16 teams for a first-year program. This is huge! They represented the city with great sportsmanship and athleticism."

Team members are Kobe Powell, Irving Valondo, Diego Ramirez, Daniel Lewis, Andre Lopez, Brooke Lyon, Andrew Walsh, Matthew Villalobos and Lucas Billins. Coaches are Joseph Powell Jr. and Joseph Powell III.