M. Basketball: Marcel Hayes commits to Redlands University

Marcel Hayes commits to Redlands University
Marcel Hayes commits to Redlands University

Named 1st Team All-South Coast Conference South Division, Marcel Hayes (Long Beach Poly HS) has announced that he has committed to Redlands University. Hayes, one of the key players for the Falcons off the bench this past season, helped the team to a share of the division championship and berth in the 3C2A State championships. He finished third on the team in scoring a 12.0 points per game and was second with a 4.3 per game rebounding average,

Hayes started just eight games on the year - including all four playoff games - but had an impact on the outcome of a game whenever he stepped on the court. He knocked down 51% of his field goals, while he also drained 31 three-pointers, including a season-high four against Compton College in a 22-point performance. He had four other games where he netted a trio of three-pointers, which included the team's 71-69 playoff win over East Los Angeles College which sent them to the state tournament.

He concluded the season scoring in double-digits in 13 of the final 14 games and hit double figures 21 times. Along with his scoring output against Compton, Hayes had 21 points in the playoff opener against Saddleback College and 20 points against Los Angeles Harbor College. Hayes pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds against LA Southwest College and had at least seven boards in four other games.

Last season, the Bulldogs went 25-5 on the year and reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III National Championships, where they suffered a 75-65 setback against #2-seeded New York University at the John A. Paulsen Center in New York City. Redlands was seeded #26 after losing in the semifinals to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the SCIAC Tournament in a season where they won the regular season title.

Hayes is the fifth member of the Falcons to make their four-year commitments and joins Spencer Ezewiro (Lamar University), Darron Henry (Missouri A&T University), Andrew Mata (Lewis & Clark State College) and Jordun Willard (Southwestern Christian, OK University).