Vaqueros score season-high 87 but still fall short

SBCC poured in 56 second-half points on Saturday night but still came up short in a 96-87 men's basketball loss to L.A. Pierce at the Sports Pavilion.

Prince Arceneaux led a balanced Vaquero attack with 22 points in 24 minutes. Four others were in double figures – Kenneth Edwards (14 points), Jared Moore (13 points, 6 rebounds), Pablo Miranda (10 points, 4 assists) and Alonzo McCain (10 points, 4 assists).

The second half points (56) and game total (87) were both season highs for Santa Barbara.

Arceneaux, who also had six rebounds, hit 10-16 from the field on a night when the Vaqueros (1-22, 0-12 WSC North) shot 50 percent, including 9-25 from long range. Terrel Funches led Pierce (10-18, 4-8) with 18 points and nine rebounds.

The Brahmas won the rebound battle 44-28 and enjoyed a big advantage at the free-throw line, making 30-of-42 compared to 10-17 for the Vaqueros.

"The fouling kind of hurt us with them making 30 and us only getting 10," said coach Morris Hodges. "It was an up-tempo game and they hit a couple of big 3s when we were coming back. We also had some bad turnovers when it got close."

SBCC jumped ahead 8-3 in the opening minutes but Pierce went on a 12-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Tatsu Suenga. Suenga hit 5-6 from the 3-point line and scored 15 points.

The Vaqueros trailed 44-31 at halftime and got within five points (71-66) on a layup by Arceneaux with 5:52 to play. The Brahmas responded with a two triples by Suenga in the next two minutes to regain control at 79-68.

SBCC closed within six (88-82) on a reverse layup by McCain with 1:09 to play but couldn't get any closer. The visitors hit 7-10 free throws in the final 1:46.

"I thought our kids played hard this year," said Hodges. "Our inability to win close games early in the season affected our confidence a little bit. The biggest thing was our inconsistent shooting. We were in the 30s (FG percentage) for a long time before we started shooting better the last couple of weeks.

"The guys kept working hard and handled an adverse situation really well. Their energy and enthusiasm was great all year long."