Merritt men, women also make playoffs

For the first time in recent memory, three basketball teams in the Peralta District have been selected for the 2015 California Community College Northern California Regional.
The Laney College women’s team, by virtue of its co-championship (with Solano and Merritt colleges) in the Bay Valley Conference, qualified for the Regional as well as both the men’s and women’s team from Merritt.
Laney, which defeated Solano 45–37 in Fairfield on Feb. 18 to tie for the BVC title, is the №12 seed and will play at №5 City College of San Francisco on Saturday, Feb. 28.
The Eagles finished the regular season with an 18–10 record overall and were 12–4 in the BVC. They defeated Solano twice in conference to earn the higher seed. The Falcons are seeded №13.
This is the sixth straight year Laney has qualified for the state playoffs.
Last season the Eagles defeated American River College in a play-in game before losing at Fresno City College.
The Merritt women had their best season in years with a 17–11 record and also finished the BVC with a 12–4 record. The Thunderbirds defeated Laney 64–57 on Feb. 11 to split the two-game series with the Eagles.
The №18 Thunderbirds had a play-in game at №15 Santa Rosa Junior College on Feb. 25. 
The winner will play at №2 Chabot (26–3) on Saturday, Feb. 28.
 The fifth-seeded Merritt men finished with a 22–6 overall record and had a 12–4 record in the BVC, good for second place behind College of Marin. 
The T-Birds, who finished with regular season with a five-game winning streak, will play host to №12 Lassen College (22–7) on Friday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m.
Two years ago, the Merritt men were a Cinderella team, qualifying the Nor Cals as a play-in team.
 The T-Birds went on a four-game run to advance to the State Final Four before losing to Mt. San Antonio College.