Southwestern College’s School of Wellness, Exercise Science and Athletics has risen from the ground on the corner of Otay Lakes Road and East H Street to become the city of Chula Vista’s newest sports cathedral.
While some construction within the complex is ongoing — and the new pool is slated to open in the spring — the school’s new gymnasium hosted its first on-court action on Tuesday when the Jaguars met Palomar College in a non-conference men’s basketball game.
The new gym is airy, bright and can seat 2,200 spectators, though only half of the stands were pulled down for the Dec. 19 game.
Southwestern did not disappoint the fans who attended the history-making event by recording a come-from-behind 71-68 victory.
It’s time to officially welcome opponents to the den.
“First, I want to say that this new gym served as motivation for us,” explained six-foot-six SWC sophomore forward Emilio Arellano, a 2010 graduate of Southwest High School. “We lost to them at their place by three points in overtime. We played our game. We played defense, so we knew which players we had to stop. We out-rebounded them. That was the difference.”
The Jaguars improved to 4-10 following Tuesday’s victory.
The teams previously met on Dec. 14, with Palomar edging Southwestern, 73-30, in overtime.
Quincey Ferebee led SWC in that game with 19 points while Jose Serrano scored 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Arrellano added 15 points and nine rebounds.
Matt Meyers and Jackson Strong led the Comets with 19 and 18 points, respectively, in the Dec. 14 encounter. Palomar out-rebounded Southwestern 38-37.
The teams were tied 58-58 at halftime.
Southwestern scored the first points in its new gym in Tuesday’s rematch but was forced to play catch-up throughout most of the first half. The Comets led 36-33 at halftime.
The Jaguars bolted out to a 40-38 lead in the opening two minutes to start the second half and eventually built a 60-51 advantage on the scoreboard midway through the second half.
However, the visitors whittled the SWC lead to just one point — 63-62 — with eight minutes to play, still plenty of time for the contest to swing either direction.
The Jaguars went up 66-62 on a three-point bomb by D.J. Wilson with 3:06 to play and were buttressed by another try by Serrano with 58 seconds left.
Clutch free throws by Ferebee (Serra) with 24 seconds remaining saved the day for the hosts.
Quentrear Meadows (El Camino) paced the Jags with 15 points in Tuesday’s contest while Ferebee had 13 points and Wilson had 12 points. Serrano and Arellano each contributed nine points.
Serrano (Balboa Prep) entered Tuesday’s game leading SWC in season scoring with a 12.8 points-per-game average while Ferebee had an 11.3 scoring average.
