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Men’s Basketball: Vikings rack up postseason honors after successful 2014-15 campaign

Sophomores Brandon Staton (left) and Chris Spencer (center) earned All-State honors while Barry Barnes was named SCC South Division Coach of the Year (Photos John Fajardo)
Sophomores Brandon Staton (left) and Chris Spencer (center) earned All-State honors while Barry Barnes was named SCC South Division Coach of the Year (Photos John Fajardo)
Posted: Mar 23, 2015

Long Beach City College sophomores Brandon Staton (Poly HS) and Chris Spencer (Jordan HS) earned All-State recognition while head coach Barry Barnes was named the South Coast Conference South Division Coach of the Year to top a list of five all-conference honors following an impressive 2014-15 men's basketball season.

Staton was named first-team All-State after leading the Vikings with a 16.7 points per game average. He scored in double digits in 26 of the 30 games he played in, including 29 points twice against state championship runner up East Los Angeles College. Staton added 4.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

Staton was also named the SCC South Division Player of the Year. As a freshman, Staton was a first-team all-conference selection as well.

Spencer picked up All-State honorable mention accolades after ranking second on the Vikings at 15.4 PPG. His 7.9 rebounds per game led LBCC. He scored in double digits in 23 of his 30 games and posted double-doubles in seven games. On January 21, Spencer poured in a career-high 34 points to go with 13 rebounds.

Spencer was also named first-team All-SCC South Division for the second consecutive season.

In his sixth season at LBCC, Barnes led the Vikings to a 23-7 overall record and his second consecutive SCC South Division championship. The Vikings reached the fourth round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs and were just a win away from advancing to the State Championship Final Four.

The 23 wins marked the Vikings' first 20-win season since 2006-07 while the .767 winning percentage was the best since LBCC's historic 33-3 season in 1998-99.

Also earning first-team All-SCC South Division honors were sophomore Elijah Gaines (San Pedro HS) and freshman Michael Shivers (Hannibal, MO).

Gaines was third on the Vikings with 11.8 PPG while also averaging 4.1 rebounds. He scored a season-high 25 points vs. Cerritos on January 22. Shivers primarily came off the bench for LBCC before emerging as a starter late in the season. He averaged 11.3 points and led the Vikings with 19 points in their upset win over No. 1 Mt. San Antonio College in the Southern California Playoffs.