May 12, 2014
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LOS ANGELES -- Santa Rosa Junior College point guard Matt Hayes has signed a National Letter of Intent to join LMU and the men's basketball program starting in the fall of 2014, Head Coach Mike Dunlap announced on Monday.
Hayes, who is from Elk Grove, Calif., and graduated Pleasant Grove High School in 2013, played one season for the Santa Rosa Bear Cubs, leading them to the CCCAA State Championship, the first in program history. In the title game, a 73-67 victory over San Bernardino Valley, Hayes had 11 points, five assists and was perfect from the line. He would go on to earn All-Tournament Team honors.
"Matt has had success in leading his teams, winning state titles both in high school and in junior college," said Dunlap. "He has shown great range in both high school and last season at Santa Rosa. We are very excited to have Matt join our program. He is another important piece to our puzzle."
Hayes would earn First-Team All-State honors and First-Team Big 8 Conference All-League after ranking 43rd in the state in scoring at 16.2 points per game. He finished hitting 43.6 percent from three, making three per contest. He went 40-for-92 from long distance, ranking sixth in the state in three-pointers. He also was among the leaders at the charity stripe, hitting 84.2 percent (ranked 35th).
Winning state titles is not new to Hayes, he helped Pleasant Grove to the CIF Division I State Championship in 2013, defeating Santa Monica, 73-57. In the championship game, Hayes led the team with 19 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal. During the regional and state playoffs, he averaged 16.2 points per game.
For his senior season, he averaged 14.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game, earning all-conference and All-CIF honors.
Hayes is the fourth member of the Lions' incoming class for 2014-15, joining Simon Krajcovic (Canarias Basketball Academy - Spain), David Humphries (Northern Iowa Area C.C.) and Devin Wyatt (De Soto High School - Texas).
