CULVER CITY – No. 8-seeded West Los Angeles College is headed to the regional finals thanks to its narrow 95-92 win over No. 23 Southwestern College on Saturday in Round 2 of the Southern California Regional Playoffs.

The Wildcats are a win away from advancing to the state tournament and will head to No. 1-seeded Fullerton College next Saturday (March 7) for a third-round playoff game set to begin at 5 p.m.

On Saturday, West LA had to hold off a last-minute surge by an upset-minded Southwestern squad that had already knocked off No. 9-seeded Riverside City College earlier in the week.

The Wildcats clung to a slim 54-52 advantage at halftime but fell behind 87-84 with 3:38 left in the contest. But Malachi Knight took over from that point. He connected for a three-pointer to tie up the game and went on to score the Wildcats' next seven points to put his squad out in front for good.

Knight ended with 21 points on the night to contribute to the win. Chase Collins scored a game-high 28 points to go along with 7 assists while Michael Baba posted a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds to help fuel the victory.

West LA, now 21-8 overall, will take on a Fullerton squad that it beat earlier in the season. On Nov. 19, the Wildcats handed the Hornets their lone loss of the season when they beat Fullerton 92-86 at home. Since the defeat, the Hornets have won 24 straight games, including a 72-58 victory over West LA on Dec. 13 in Fullerton. The Hornets go into Saturday's game with a 28-1 overall record.

The winner advances to the 3C2A State Championships on March 13-15 at College of the Sequoias in Visalia. The Wildcats look to return to the state championship tournament after reaching the state semifinals during the 2021-22 season.