One of Irvine Valley basketball coach Jerry Hernandez's favorite players has found a new home.
Sophomore guard Dathon Spencer recently signed to continue his academic and athletic career at the University of Lethbridge in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
Lethbridge is about 70 miles north of Montana.
Spencer could have found opportunities to play closer to home, but said he really enjoyed his recruiting trip to Canada and was looking forward to new experiences.
He will bring a tough, hard-nosed approach with him to Lethbridge.
"Dathon was a true leader for us and really one of the best I've ever had here," Hernandez said. "He epitomizes what we want out of our student-athletes. He does things the right way, he is a great teammate, plays hard all of the time and has a great spirit on and off the court."
Spencer didn't start a game for the Lasers in his 57 contests with the team over the last two seasons. But he was as important to Hernandez as any player on the Lasers' squad.
"Dathon was our first guy off the bench," Hernandez said. "He was our spark any time we needed it. He could guard multiple positions and he often times we'd put him on the other team's top perimeter player."
Spencer, who prepped at Segerstrom High, ranked third on the team in steals in each of the last two seasons for IVC.
Spencer averaged 6.1 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 30 games during the 2013-14 season.
He had a career-high 18 points in a 67-60 Orange Empire Conference win over Orange Coast in February.
Spencer also helped IVC to one of its best seasons. The 2013-14 Lasers finished with a record of 25-5, a playoff appearance and earned the program's first ever No. 1 ranking in the state, which came last December.
He averaged 7.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists his freshman season for Irvine Valley in 2012-13.
"We are really going to miss him," Hernandez said. "His attributes will be tough to replace. But this is great for Dathon and I know he is going to be successful there."
Lethbridge plays in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association. The Pronghorns had a record of 15-9 overall last season and 15-7 in conference.
