Clockwise from upper left in November, December games: Matt Refner, Comets during timeout, Dwayne Davis, Uros Vukovich, Tyler Davidson. (Photos by Sheila Refner)

Men's Basketball Recruiting

Sophomore shooting guard E.J. Ross  (No. 23, left), a two-time first-team All-Pacific Coast Conference selection and runner-up for PCC Player of the Year honors in 2005-06. has become the fourth sophomore from Palomar's 2006-07 team to move on to a four-year college.

Ross accepted a scholarship to Seton Hill University, an NAIA school in Greensburg, PA.

He'd been recruited by NCAA Division I Marshall University before the Thundering Herd made a coaching change following the 2006-07 season.

Ross, a 6-foot-2, 200-pounder, averaged 13.9 points and 4.5 reb ounds for the Comets this past season. He had a high-point total of 26 points vs. College of the Desert on  Dec. 7.

As a freshman in 2005-2006, Ross averaged 15.4 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. He scored 29 points on Feb. 15 as the Comets clinched the Pacific Coast Conference championship by beating Cuyamaca and had 27 points is a state playoff game vs. Mt. SAC on Feb. 22.

Palomar’s signings and commitments to date:

Scholarships, Awards

Palomar sophomore shooting guard / forward Matt Refner has accepted a scholarship to C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, an NCAA Division II school in Brookville, NY.

The 6-foot-6, 205-pound left-handed 3-point shooting specialist was an All-Pacific Coast Conference honorable mention selection in 2006-2007 as the Comets went 19-13.

Refner averaged 7.9 points and 3.3 rebounds for the Comets, while shooting 42.2 percent from the field, 41.2 percent from beyond the 3-point arc (fourth best in the conference) and 80.1 percent from the free throw line (fifth in the conference).

Palomar sophomore center Tyler Davidson (right), a 4.0 student, has received two academic awards.

State basketball playoffs

Tartars oust Palomar 72-54; Comets end 17-13

(2/21/07) 

Palomar's men's basketball season came to an end on Wednesday night when the Comets lost on the road against Compton College 72-54.

Dwayne Davis (13 points), Chris Holloway (left, 10 points and seven assists), E.J. Ross (10 points) and George Jovanic (10 rebounds) led the Comets in defeat.

Palomar trailed 41-27 at halftime and cut Compton's lead to five points in the second half before the Tartars drew away,

The Comets finish the season 17-13..

Palomar receives an at-large bid, draws Compton

(2/19/07) 

Palomar College received an at-large berth in the California Community College men's basketball  playoffs on Monday.

The Comets (17-12), will travel to Compton College (19-9) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. for a play-in round game.

If the Comets win, they will travel to No. 4 Southern California seed Chaffey (28-6) for a 7 p.m. game Saturday.

Palomar finished third in the Pacific Coast Conference standings behind champion Imperial Valley and second-place Cuyamaca.

Cuyamaca will host Santa Ana in a play-in game Wednesday evening. Imperial Valley will play its first game of the post-season against Riverside Community College on Friday evening on the road.

RIGHT PHOTO: Chris Holloway (right) scores for Palomar men's team in Saturday's 71-64 victory over Southwestern which closed out the regular season. No. 34 is George Jovanic.  (Photo by Hugh Cox)

Ross repeats as 1st-team all-conference selection

(2/18/07) 

E.J. Ross (top left), Palomar's sophomore guard from Orange County High School in Orange, VA, has been selected to the All-Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball team for the second consecutive season by conference coaches.

Uros Vukovich, (lower left), a sophomore forward / center from San Marcos High School, was voted to the all-conference second team.

Kris Petrovic (upper right) and Matt Refner (lower right) both received honorable mention.

Petrovic (third from top at left) is a sophomore forward /center from San Pasqual High School who played his first community college season at MiraCosta.

Refner (bottom left) is a sophomore shooting guard and small forward from Seton Catholic High School in Chandler, AZ, and is a transfer from Northern Arizona where he played during the 2005-2006 season.

Ross goes out in style with 23 points in victory

(2/17/07) 

E.J. Ross (right), playing his final regular-season game for Palomar, scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds Saturday evening as the Comets downed Southwestern 71-64 in their regular-season finale at the Dome.

Kris Petrovic (12 points, eight rebounds) and Uros Vukovich (10 points) also scored in double figures for the Comets (17-11, 11-5).

Matt Refner gave Palomar the lead for good 63-60 at ther 1:50 mark in the second half when he drained a 3-point shot from outside the left portion of the free throw circle.

The Comets finally won a game without Josh Firmes, who was sidelined for the rest of the season with a fractured foot against San Diego Miramar on Feb. 7

Comets bury Jets 56-22 on boards in 13-pt. win

(2/7/07) 

Led  by Kris Petrovic (left) with 11 rebounds and Uros Vukovich and E.J. Ross with eight apiece, Palomar turned back  San Diego Miramar 80-67 Wednesday nights at Scripps Ranch High School in San Diego.

In the process, the Comets (16-10, 10-3 in the Pacific Coast Conference) tuned up for Saturday's first-place showdown with Imperial Valley.

Palomar out-rebounded Miramar 56-22.

Nedal Tartir and Chris Holloway tallied 14 points each for the Comets. Vukovich had 10 points and four blocks. Jose Orona and Matt Refner dished off four assists each.

Coach John O'Neill's squad has won nine of its last 10 games.

Comets drop 81-77 heartbreaker on road to IVC

(2/10/07) 

Palomar's defending champ;ions, trying to move into a tie for first place, lost to the Pacific Coast Conference leaders on a night they attempted only six free throws in a physical game.

The Comets outscored IVC from the field 67-56 before the biggest crowd of the season in the PCC.

Kris Petrovic led Palomar (16-11, 10-)d with 17 points and seven rebounds. E.J. Ross  scored 16 points, Nedal Tartir 15. Jose Orona dished off six assists.

Cold second half eliminates Palomar from race

(2/14/07) 

The host Comets saw a 37-24 halftime lead go South in the teams' battle for second place in the Pacific Coast Conference, falling into third (one game behind the Coyotos) with one game to play.

Cuyamaca opened the second half with a 15-0 run as Palomar fell to 16-12 overall, 10-5 in conference. The loss eliminated the defending PCC champions from the conference title race.

E.J. Ross led the Comets with 21 points. Chris Holloway scored 12.

Holloway returns and Palomar clips Grossmont

(1/31/07) 

Chris Holloway, who had been sidelined since Dec. 29 with a hand injury, returned to action for Palomar Wednesday night. His return couldn't have come at a more opportune time.

Holloway (left) was one of five Palomar players who scored in double figures in an 85-76 Pacific Coast Conference win over host Grossmont that kept the Comets tied for second place.

Dwayne Davis (21 points), five assists), Uros Vukovich (right, 15 points, 11 rebounds), Holloway (15 points), E.J. Ross (19 points, nine rebounds) and Nedal Tartir (12 points, four assists) scored in double figures.

The Comets (15-10, 9-3) drained 13 3-pointers, jumping out to a 9-0 advantage on a trio of 3's and leading wire-to-wire as they notched their eighth victory in their last nine games.

The victory came on a night when the Comets were without two key players due to injury and a personal commitment,  with a third playing only briefly due to illness. 

Petrovic goes 10-for-10 from field; Comets win big

(1/27/07) 

Kris Petrovic (left) went 10-for-10 from the field, scoring 20 points before fouling out, as Palomar routed visiting San Diego Mesa 81-63 Saturday to remain barely off the pace in the Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball race.

The Comets moved to 14-10, 8-3 in the conference, and trail Imperial Valley, a 72-64 winner over MiraCosta, by one-half game. Cuyamaca was upset by Grossmont 66-63 and fell out of a tie for second place with Palomar.

E.J. Ross (12 points, eight rebounds), Nedal Tartir (11 points) and George Jovanic (10 points, nine rebounds) also scored in double figures for Palomar.

Josh Firmes pulled down seven rebounds and played a key role in holding Brett Lauer, the PCC scoring leader who scored 36 points in the teams' first meeting, to 11 points.

Palomar will visit Grossmont on Wednesday, Jan. 31, at 5 p.m. in its only game of the week.

Comets rally to defeat MiraCosta in overtime

1/23/07) 

Trailing 27-20 at halftime, Palomar rallied to down rival MiraCosta 75-72 in overtime Tuesday night at the Dome to remain tied for first place in Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball.

It was the sixth straight win for the defending champion Comets (13-9, 7-2), who are deadlocked with Imperial Valley for the conference lead. The Arabs defeated Southwestern, while Cuyamaca fell out of a three-way tie for first place after losing to San Diego City College.

Dwayne Davis and E.J. Ross scored five points each for the Comets in the overtime, while Josh Firmes' steal and free throw with 5.8 seconds remaining sealed the victory.

Davis (18 points), Ross (14 points, eight rebounds), Uros Vukovich (above left, 12 rebounds) and George Jovanic (11 rebounds) led Palomar statistically.

MiraCosta is 3-18, 1-8 in the conference.

Streak of bad first halves catches up with Palomar

(1/25/07) 

A bad first half for the fourth straight game caught up with the Comets as they saw their six-game win streak end with a 90-67 road loss at San Diego City College on Thursday night. The road loss drops them into a second-place tie with Cuyamaca, one-half game behind Imperial Valley, which had a bye.

E.J. Ross led Palomar with 13 points. Kris Petrovic led in rebounds with seven. Josh Firmes, who had nine points and six rebounds in 19 minutes, sparked the Comets off the bench.

Comets move into a tie for first with 5th win in row

(1/20/07) 

Defending Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball champion Palomar moved into a tie for first place, beating host Southwestern 56-49 Saturday night for its fifth straight win while Imperial Valley upset Cuyamaca 63-60.

Matt Refner (left) scored 14 of his game-high 16 points for Palomar in the second half and went 8-for-8 from the free throw line in the final 7 1/2 minutes.

E.J. Ross tallied 14 points and gave the Comets the lead for good by making two free throws with 3:28 to play.

Palomar led only twice previouslly in the game, at 40-38 after a drive to the basket by Josh Firmes with 8:29 to play and 46-44 after two free throws by Firms with 4:01 left.

The Comets (19-9, 6-2), who are tied for first place with Cuyamaca and Imperial Valley after the firwst round got nine rebounds from Uros Vukovich and seven from Kris Petrovic.

Palomar begins second-round play Tuesday, Jan. 23, when the Comets host MiraCosta at 7 p.m.

Comets dominate 2nd half, beat leaders on road

Race on.

Palomar went on a 16-3 run midway through the second half Wednesday night as the defending champion and second-place Comets rallied from a three-point halftime deficit to down first-place Cuyamaca 76-69 on the road.

Josh Firmes hauled down six of Palomar's 15 first-half rebounds to keep the game close. Then the Comets came back out and outscored the Coyotes 39-29 in the second half to move to within one game of the conference lead with one game remaining in the first round.

Dwayne Davis (left) scored 11 of his game-high 17 points in the second half for Palomar (11-9 overall, 5-2 in conference). Davis also pulled down six rebounds in the game.

Nedal Tartir (14 points, including four 3-pointers), Matt Refner (11 points, including three 3-pointers) and Uros Vukovich (10 points and six rebounds) joined Davis in double figures. Tartir and E.J. Ross each made two clutch free throws in the final 4.5 seconds.

Jose Orona  dished off seven assists. Palomar wore down the Coyotes with tough defense, a 23-18 rebound advantage in the second half and by constantly running fresh players into the game.

Other key Comets in O'Neill's rapid-substitution system include: Dwayne Davis, Marco Yuzawa, Matt Refner (No. 14, above, second in the conference with 39 3-pointers, fourth with a 49.0 3-point percentage), Josh Firmes (No. 24, above, second in the conference with an 81.0 free throw percentage), George Jovanic and Adrian Lopez. Chris Holloway is still sidelined with a broken hand.

Palomar downs IVC, moves into tie for 2nd place

(1/13/07) 

Palomar's defending Pacific Coast Conference champions moved into a tie for second place with Imperial Valley, turning back the Arabs 69-66 on Saturday evening at the Dome.

Matt Refner (right) led the Comets (9-10, 4-2) with 11 points. Uros Vukovich contributed a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and also had two blocks.

Dwayne Davis also tallied 10 points. Jose Orona and Marco Yuzawa dished off seven assists each.

The Arabs are 14-7, 4-2. The Comets play first-place Cuyamaca on Wednesday on the Coyotes' floor.

Ross and Vukovich lead Comets over Miramar

(1/11/07) 

E.J. Ross (left) scored 17 points and Uros Vukovich (right) blocked five shots in 14 minutes as Palomar cleared its bench early in an 84--63 rout of visiting San Diego Miramar on Thursday night.

The Comets (8-10, 3-2 Pacific Coast Conference) raced to a 52-32 halftime lead as Nedal Tartir scored all of his 14 points and Kris Petrovic tallied all of his nine points. Tartir drained four 3-pointers in the surge. Matt Refner buried two of his four 3-pointers.

Palomar out-rebounded the Jets 42-27, led by Dwayne Davis with five boards in 13 minutes, Josh Firmes and Petrovic each with five in 14 minutes and George Jovanic with five.

Refner finished with 12 points.

Miramar fell to 1-15, 1-8 in conference.

Comets outscore Griffs 19-10 in OT to win 102-93

(1/6/07) 

E.J. Ross (left) tallied 10 of his 20 points in overtime Saturday evening as  Palomar outscored Grossmont 19-10 to secure a 102-93 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball victory. 

Dwayne Davis went 7-for-7 from the field and drained all four of his 3-point attempts to lead Palomar (7-10, 2-2) with 21 points.

Kris Petrovic scored 16 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, 10 on the offensive board, as the Comets out-rebounded the Griffins 44-31.

Nedal Tartir (13 points) and Jose Orona (11 points) also scored in double figures for Palomar.

Josh Firmes (right), breaking into the starting lineup at forward, added nine points and sparked the Comets defensively and at both ends of the floor while playing 32 minutes..

Comets shoot 59 percent, down SD City 82-76

(12/16/06) 

Palomar shot 58.6 from the field and gunned down San Diego City College 82-76 to even its Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball record at 1-1 on Saturday night at the Dome.

Kris Petrovic (left), playing the final 15 minutes, 23 seconds with four fouls, led the defending PCC champion Comets (6-7 overall) with 19 points and seven rebounds.

He was 8-for-10 from the field.

E.J. Ross made seven of 10 shots and tallied 17 points. Chris Holloway tallied 10 points, including a four-point play with 12.4 seconds left when he had a bucket plus two free throws after being intentionally fouled.

Jose Orona dished off six assists as Palomar overcame a 13-for-30 night from the free throw line.

-------

Refner drains 5 3-poiners but Comets fall to Mesa

(1/4/07) 

Matt Refner (right), seeing limited duty due to a bout with the flu, drained 5 3-pointers to tally 15 points on Thursday night, but Palomar dropped a 81-69 Pacific Coast Conference decisio to San Diego Mesa on the road as the Olympians' Brett Lauer scored 36 points.

Kris Petrovic had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Comets (6-10 overall, 1-2 Pacific Coast Conference. Nedal Tartir tallied 13 points and had 4 steals. Uros Vukovich pulled down 8 rebounds.

The Comets (6-10, 1-2) were hurt by the loss of Chris Holloway, who did not suit out due to a broken hand.

Holloway scores 46, but Palomar drops two games

(12/29/06) 

Chris Holloway (left) tallied 46 points in two games, but Palomar lost twice in the Desert Holiday Classic in Palm Springs on Dec. 28-29.

Holloway scored 23 points on Thursday but the Comets fell to Mt.  San Jacinto 84-72. Kris Petrovic (12 points, 6 rebounds) and Dwayne Davis (10 points, 5 boards) also scored in double figures for Palomar.

Imperial Valley eliminated Palomar 85-79 in the consolation semifinals on Friday. Holloway scored 23 points for Palomar. Uros Vukovich had 11 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Palomar's 12-game PCC winning streak ends

(12/13/06) 

Visiting Palomar dropped its Pacific Coast Conference opener to MiraCosta 55-54 on a 3-point shot with one second remaining.  Palomar's 12-game conference win streak went by the boards in the process.

Kris Petrovic led the Comets (5-7 overa) with 14 points and 9 rebounds. George Jovanic had 5 offensive rebounds.. E.J. Ross contributed 5 assists.

MiraCosta fell to 2-10.

Ross' 26 points lifts Comets over COD 92-75

(12/7/06) 

E.J. Ross scored 26 points ass Palomar downed College of the Desert 92-75 in the consolation quarterfinals of the Wells Fargo Holiday Tournament at Riverside Community College.

Ross (left) went 11-for-15 from the field on the way to his 26 points against the Roadrunners. Dwayne Davis tallied 14 points, and Matt Refner and and Marco Yuzawa each added eight points.

Kris Petrovic (11 rebounds) and Josh Firmes (9 rebounds) keyed Palomar's 57-29 advantage on the boards. Yuzawa was the Comets' assist leader with four.

Chris Holloway scored 22 points, going 8-for-14 from the field, but the Comets saw a comeback fall short as they dropped an 82-78 decision to Long Beach City College in their tournament opener on Dec. 6. Ross (12 points) and Kris Petrovic (11 points, 5 rebounds) also scored on double figures for Palomar. Dwayne Davis dished off 4 assists.

Palomar fell to San Diego City College 75-64 in the consolation semifinals on Dec. 9. Petrovic led the Comets with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Ross scored 12 points. Holloway added 10.

Ross (23 pts., 10-for-15), Palomar top Citrus

(11/29/06) 

E.J. Ross (left) went 10-for-15 from the field and drained 3-of-4 3-pointers in leading Palomar to a 67-63 non-conference victory over Citrus on Wednesday evening at the Dome.

Ross finished with 23 points and also had five rebounds and two steals.

Dwayne Davis added 10 points against the Owls, who came into the game 6-4 and ranked No. 13 in Southern California.

George Jovanic (seven rebounds) and Matt Refener (six rebounds) paced Palomar's 36-26 advantage on the boards. The Comets had six blocks -- two each by Jovanic and Kris Petrovic and one apiece by Uros Vukovich, Ross and Nedal Tartir.

The Comets shot 52 per cent from the field and were 7-for-14 on  3-pointers. Palomar is 4-3 on the season.

Comets' second-half comeback falls short

(11/26/06) 

Palomar's men's basketballs quad, trailing in double digits most of the game, saw a furious second-half comeback fall short Sunday as the Comets dropped an 86-80 decision to Southwestern for third place in the Palomar Thanksgiving Tournament.

Chase Greep pulled the Comets to within a points with a lay-up and free throw with six minutes to play, but they could never get the lead.

Nedal Tartir led Palomar with 14 points. E.J. Ross (11 points), Dwayne Davis (11 points) and Josh Firmes (10 points), who ignited the Comets' comeback with with seven points early in the closing half, joined Tartir in double figures

George Jovanic led Palomar in rebounds with 11.

Norwood (36 points) keeps Comets out of final

(11/25/06) 

Rishawn Norwood, the 2005-06 California community college scoring champion who has signed early with Nebraska, scored 36 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Palomar on Saturday night.

He led Mt. SAC to a 96-86 victory over the Comets in the semifinals of the Palomar Thanksgiving Tournament. The Mounties will meet Saddleback, a 62-51 winner over Southwestern, in today's championship game at 5 p.m. The Comets play Southwestern for third place at 3 p.m.

E.J. Ross (left, 21 points, eight rebounds) and Matt Refner (right, 17 points, all in the second half, including four 3-pointers) led Palomar in defeat. Uros Vukovich (12 points, six rebounds), Chris Holloway (11 points) and Dwayne Davis (11 points) also scored in double figures for the Comets. Marco Yuzawa dished off seven assists.

Los Angeles Trade Tech, a 93-59 winner over MiraCosta, and Pasadena City College, a 73-66 winner over San Diego Miramar, will play for the consolation title at 1 p.m.

Davidson's tip-in wins for Palomar in overtime

(11/24/06) 

Tyler Davidson's (left) tip-in with 1.4 seconds left in overtime lifted Palomar's men's basketball team to a 92-90 victory over Pasadena City College on Friday night in the first round of the Palomar Thanksgiving Tournament.

Nedal Tartir, who led the Comets with 21 points, drained all five of his 3-point attempts and Matt Refner had three 3-pointers. The Comets hit on 12 of 30 shots from beyond the arc.

E.J. Ross had 16 points and six rebounds, Uros Vukovich blocked five shots, and Adrian Lopez and Marco Yuzawa dished off seven assists apiece.

Comets to seek fifth PCC title in eight seasons

Palomar will seek its fifth Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball championship in eight seasons during the 2006-07 campaign after winning their last 12 regular-season games and going 13-1 in conference play to win the PCC title a year ago.

The Comets (right) finished the 2005-06 campaign 17-12. Point guard Manny Alcala was voted conference Player of the Year honors and John O'Neill was selected as conference Coach of the Year.

E.J. Ross also joined Alcala on the all-conference first team. G.P. Wells made the second team, and John Hotaling received honorable mention.

 Ross scored 27 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead Palomar, which cut the Mounties' 50-40 halftime lead to one point in the second half before succumbing. Chris Jackson (19 points),  Alcala (16 points, 12 assists) and Wells (10 points) also scored in double figures for the Comets.

2006-2007 Palomar men's basketball team (Photo by Melinda Finn)