Irvine Valley's men's basketball team, which is ranked No. 22 in the state, missed its game at El Camino Tuesday night because of health and safety protocols.
The game is postponed.
But the Lasers are ready to start their Orange Empire Conference schedule against one of the top teams in the state, Fullerton, on Friday night.
Fullerton, which was ranked No. 1 in the state in the California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches Association poll on Dec. 7, has a record of 10-1 overall.
Irvine Valley, which is one of four teams from the OEC in the top ranked in the top 30 in the state, improved to 7-3 after defeating Mt. SAC, 80-59, last Friday night at home.
Heading into conference, IVC has several players near the top of the OEC stat leaders.
Sophomore guard Luc Krystkowiak, sophomore forward Josh Walker and freshman guard Brian Mendoza are among the leaders.
Krystkowiak is ranked in a number of categories.
He ranks fourth in points per game at 16.2, is second in rebounding per game at 8.5 and fifth in assists at 2.9.
Krystkowiak is also third in total points with 162, second in total rebounds with 85, fourth in blocks per game at 0.8 and sixth in steals at 1.6 per game.
Walker leads the conference in field goal percentage at 69.8 percent and Mendoza is seventh in steals at 1.5 per game.
As a team, IVC leads in a couple of defensive categories, including field goal percentage defense (36.1 percent) and points allowed per game at 36.1 percent.
Orange Empire Conference (oecsports.com)
The Lasers' game at Fullerton on Friday tips off at 5 p.m.
