Men's Basketball Sees Three Earn All-Conference Honors

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

College of the Canyons had three players earn All-Western State Conference (WSC), South Division honors for the 2022-23 season.

Canyons (14-14, 5-9) finished the year on a bright note with back-to-back wins to place sixth in the WSC, South. The Cougars began conference play on Jan. 4 as the No. 27 ranked team in the state but lost six of their next seven contests to fall into a hole it couldn't climb out of. COC was 4-3 during the second round of conference competition.

Included on the list of Canyons postseason awardees are freshman forward Jonah El-Farra, sophomore forward Andrew Henderson, and sophomore point guard Dillon Barrientos.

Jonah El-Farra / All-WSC, South First-Team
El-Farra turned in a strong freshman campaign for the Cougars, finishing third on the team with 12.1 points per game and leading the squad with nine rebounds each night to rank second in the WSC, South. His 63.8 percent field goal percentage was also the conference's No. 2 mark. The West Ranch High School graduate topped double-digit rebound totals in 13 games with a season-high 21 boards vs. Bakersfield on Feb. 1. His high game scoring of 24 came on Jan. 11 vs. top-ranked Citrus College and was one of 21 games in which the power forward dropped double-digit point totals.

Andrew Henderson / All-WSC, South First-Team
Henderson led the conference with 18.4 points per game as part of a total stat line that included 5.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. The sophomore shot 46.1 percent from the field, good for the conference No. 12 spot. He also led the Cougars and was fourth in the WSC, South with an 81.9 percent mark from the free throw line. The Chatsworth High School graduate logged starts in 15 of 28 games but finished among the team leaders in minutes played. Henderson averaged 20.2 points during conference play reaching double digits in every game while topping 20 points on seven occasions, including a season-high 33 in the finale vs. Santa Monica College. That final performance helped Henderson finish his two-year Cougar career with 1,006 career points. Henderson was also an All-WSC, First-Team selection as a freshman.

Dillon Barrientos / All-WSC, South Honorable Mention
Barrientos finished second on the team with 15.3 points per game and posted a team-best three assists each night to help lead the Cougars' offense. On the defensive end the Hart High School product averaged 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Barrientos, who posted starts in 24 of 28 games, shot just under 35 percent from three-point territory and was 44.5 percent from the field. He scored a career-high 28 points to help Canyons get past Glendale in a thrilling late-season comeback and topped double-digits in 10 of 14 conference contests. Barrientos was also an All-WSC, First-Team selection as a freshman.

Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

—Photo by Kyle Kawamoto/COC Sports Information