The more things change, the more Evan Oliver shines in his role.
The son of former Cal State San Bernardino men’s basketball coach Jeff Oliver, Evan was a ball boy for the Coyotes before distinguishing himself as a two-time all-CIF Southern Section selection at Riverside Poly in 2019 and 2020.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Oliver played three seasons at Chico State before transferring in 2024 to Cal State San Bernardino for his final season of NCAA eligibility.
A graduate student with eyes on a career as a coach, Oliver currently leads the California Collegiate Athletic Association in minutes (959), assists (145) and steals (65).
“He’s been phenomenal,” Coyotes head coach Gus Argenal said. “You see with his play, all of his numbers, his assists, his shooting percentages; He’s been all-league or as good as you can have playing on the ball and off the ball.”
Oliver is averaging 14.3 points, 5.4 assists and 2.4 steals per game for the Coyotes (18-9 overall, 11-7 CCAA), who are among just four teams in the NCAA Division II West Region with 18-or-more wins.
“He’s just such a competitor and I really think he’s willed us to a couple of wins,” Argenal said. “We wouldn’t have the 18 wins we have right now without him being here as a team leader.”
The Coyotes have been forced to make changes this season after season-ending injuries to leaders Giordan Williams (knee) and Evan Guillory (hernia).
“I think with each time we’ve lost a guy to injury, and we’ve had a lot of just weird things happen, I laugh because we’ve had five or six versions of this team (and) it’s taken us a game or two each time we’ve had a major injury to figure out who we are and how we’re going to keep winning,” Argenal said. “This group’s been able to bounce back and they’ve been really tough.”
Williams was leading the team in scoring but senior guard Andrew Henderson has stepped up to average more than 16 points per game. Guillory was the other point guard in a rotation with Oliver, but seniors Jordan Jones and Camren Pierce (Etiwanda HS) are combining to fill that hole.
“It’s never an excuse so it becomes about how quickly can your team respond and continue to win games even though they may have to play a different way,” Argenal said.
Oliver has allowed the Coyotes to maintain a calm yet competitive presence in the face of mountain pressure.
“He’s so feisty and so tough,” Argenal said. “He has such pride in this program (and) he just doesn’t ever give up. He’s got an energy level that comes from his competitive spirit, and that comes from who he is and the type of competitor he’s been his entire career.”
The Coyotes play their final two home games of the regular season this week when they host Cal State East Bay on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., and San Francisco State on Saturday at 3 p.m.
HIGHLANDERS WIN IN EXTRAS
The UC Riverside softball team earned a dramatic 1-0 victory in extra innings over Portland State to close out the Stanford Tournament on Sunday, Feb. 16.
Junior infielder Jackie Alday reached on an error and came around to score on a passed ball in the ninth inning for the Highlanders (6-6 overall), who atoned for a 5-3 loss to Portland State on Friday and have now won two of their last three games.
Senior right-hander Maddie Heinlin (2-2) tossed six scoreless innings with five strikeouts in relief of freshman starter Teagan Everett, who worked three shutout innings with five hits allowed.
The Highlanders open play in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic at Big League Dreams park in Cathedral City this Thursday with a doubleheader against Bethune-Cookman and Washington, followed by a game on Friday against Nevada and another doubleheader against Rutgers and San Diego State on Saturday.
SBVC EYES SECOND PLACE
The San Bernardino Valley College men’s basketball team hosts Cerro Coso in a battle for second place on Wednesday night.
The Wolverines (21-5 overall) and Cerro Coso (18-8) are tied with identical 12-2 records in the Inland Empire Athletic Conference to begin the final week of the regular season. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
Currently, Chaffey is on top of the IEAC with a 22-5, 14-1 mark.
Freshman guard Darius Carr (22.6 points per game) leads SBVC, which finishes the regular season on the road at Palo Verde (2-12) on Friday.
ODDS & ENDS
Cal Poly Pomona junior Viviana Martinez finished in 5 minutes, 0.31 seconds to place second and set a new school record in the Women’s 1 Mile at the Premier Meet in Mankato, Minn. on Saturday, Feb. 15. … NCAA Division III preseason No. 8 La Verne won both games of a rain-shortened two-game home series against No. 10 East Texas Baptist, 9-7 and 13-6, to open its season last week. … Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men’s tennis, last year’s Division III runner-up, earned a 5-2 victory at UC Riverside on Saturday, Feb. 15. … Lucas Gordon scored the game-winning layup with 4 seconds left as Redlands men’s basketball won its ninth consecutive with a 69-67 victory over Occidental on Saturday, Feb. 15. The Bulldogs are 20-3 overall.
