Palomar Men's Basketball 2007-08

JOSH FIRMES

NO. 24 /  Post / Forward, 6-3, 180

YEAR: Sophomore

HOMETOWN: Wildomar, California

HIGH SCHOOL: Elsinore HS (Wildomar, CA) '06

PERSONAL: Born Feb. 4, 1988, at Fallbrook Hospital in Fallbrook, CA. ... Son of Tom and Donna Firmes. ... Has a son, Brandon, age 1, who was born during the 2006-2007 season. ... Cousin of Bryan Wright, pro golfer on the Canadian Tour. ... Undecided major.

2007-08 SEASON: Again played far above his 6-foot-3 height as both a forward and post player. ...  Had best vertical jump on the team, 29 inches. ... By far the smallest post player in the Pacific Coast Conference, but led the team and was among conference leaders in rebounding on the season (6.6 per game) and in conference play (8.8 per game). Had a high of 17 rebounds vs. San Diego Mesa on Feb. 2 in the teams' second-round game, beginning a three-game streak in which he had 17, 16 and 15 rebounds ... Was the first Palomar player to have three consecutive 15-plus rebound games since 6-8 John Fairchild (who went on to become a first-team All-American at BYU and played for the Los Angeles Lakers) back in the sixties. … Shot 57.4 percent from the field on the season, which led the Comets, and .59.3 percent in conference games, also to lead the team. ... Averaged 6.9 points per game for the seasosn and 8.3 points in conference play. ... Was an honorable mention all-conference selection. ... Being recruited by one of the nation's elite NAIA programs, Jamestown (N.D.) College. ... Pulled down seven rebounds in the Comets' home opener, a 104-90 victory over Cerritos on Nov. 9. ... Hauled down a team-high nine rebounds in just 15 minutes as Palomar crushed MiraCosta 108-69 in its conference opener on Dec. 12. ... Led the Comets with six rebounds against San Diego City College on Dec. 15. ... Led the team with five boards in an 88-83 win at Barstow on Dec. 19. ... Grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in a 77-69 win over Los Angeles City College on Dec. 27. ... Had four rebounds and four assists vs. Chaffey on Dec. 28. ... Had five steals against College of the Desert on Dec. 29. ...Helped lead the Comets to a 96-71 win over Mesa on Jan. 3 with 12 rebounds and five assists....Notched a game-high seven rebounds against Grossmont on Jan. 5. ...   Came back from a mid-season illness to grab eight rebounds in a 76-71 win over Cuyamaca on Jan. 19. Had four offensive boards in the game, including two key second-half tip-ins.... Hauled down seven rebounds vs. Southwestern on Jan. 23. ... Scored 12 points against MiraCosta on Jan. 26, when he connected on eight of nine free throw attempts. ... Led the Comets to an 96-58 victory over San Diego City College on Jan. 30 with 21 points, eight rebounds (six on the offensive board), four steals and two assists. Was 9-for-13 from the field in the game as Palomar avenged a Dec. 15 first-round loss to the Knights on the road. ... Led the Comets to a 77-62 victory over Mesa on Feb. 2 with 17 rebounds (nine on the offensive board). Scored 13 points in the game, shooting 6-for-9 from the field. ... Scored 15 points  (going 7-for-11 on field goals), grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked two shots vs. second-place Grossmont on Feb. 6.... Had 12 points and 15 rebounds (10 on the offensive board) vs. Miramar on Feb. 13, making s6-of-9 field goals ... Helped the Comets hand newly-crowned PCC champion Imperial Valley itsfirst conference loss in 14 games 83-73 on Feb. 16 with 10  points a team-high six rebounds and four steals. More than held his own inside against the Arab team that has two players 6-foot-9, another 6-8 and another 6-7.,,, Was 4-for-5 from the field. ... Had another double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds and also had four assists and four steals vs. Cuyamaca on Feb. 20. ... Finished the season with 11 rebounds and four assists in an 89-83 loss at Southwestern on Feb. 23 after fouling out early in overtime with the Comets in the lead.

2006-07 SEASON: Saw his season come to a premature end in the Comets' win over San Diego Miramar  on the road on Feb. 7 when he fractured a foot in the first half. ... Had scored seven points in his first six minutes of play when he sustained the injury. ... Not realizing the foot was broken, Firmes returned to the floor briefly in the second half and played with the injury. ... Shot 53.2 percent from the field in Pacific Coast Conference play to rank among the PCC leaders. ... Averaged 4.6 rebounds per game both on the season and in conference play. ... Had a single-game high-point total of 12 points in an 87-76 victory over Cerritos on Nov. 10 and single-game rebound high of nine in 92-75 win over College of the Desert on Dec. 7. ... Pulled down eight rebounds as the Comets downed Cypress  87-79 on Nov. 16 and again against San Diego City College on Dec. 8. ... Also scored in double figures (10 points) vs. Southwestern on Nov. 26.

HIGH SCHOOL: First-team All-Valley, first-team All-Sunbelt League and honorable mention All-Riverside County under coach Pete Rettinger at Elsinore High School, while carrying a 3.5 grade-point average. ... Averaged 17.9 points and 9.9 rebounds per game as the league champion Tigers advanced to the CIF-Southern Section playoffs. ... Also played baseball for the Tigers and was an all-league and All-Southern Section singles player in tennis, (league champion in doubles).

ALL-STAR GAME: Scored 14 points in the Riverside County vs. San Diego County All-Star Game at the Palomar Dome

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(Updated at conclusion of season)