Grossmont downs Vaqueros 85-68

Grossmont took command with a 21-5 run to end the first half and start the second on Friday night on the way to an 85-68 men's basketball win over SBCC at the 44th annual Grossmont Tournament in El Cajon.

Kaelen Mitchell (21 points) and Daniel McCown (20) combined for 41 points and made 9-14 from 3-point country for the Griffins (4-3). McCown hit 5-6 from downtown and Mitchell was 4-8. Grossmont (4-3) made 50 percent of its shots and was even better from the 3-point line (11-22, 54.5 percent).

The Vaqueros (1-5) shot 37 percent and were 8-29 (27.6 percent) from long distance.

Tejon Williams led Santa Barbara with 12 points and six assists. Robert Hutchins added 11 points and six assists. Martin Pedersen and Jerry Leon scored eight apiece and Desmond Dotson had seven rebounds in 10 minutes off the bench.

The Griffins used a 14-0 run to take a 31-14 lead with 7:19 to go in the opening half. The Vaqueros responded with a 15-3 run of their own, capped by a triple from Williams to pull within 34-29 at the 3:29 mark.

Grossmont finished the first half on a 14-5 burst, however, and Mitchell scored the first seven points of the second half in 86 seconds, stretching a 48-34 halftime lead to 55-34.

"Our defense was very poor in the first half and we gave up a lot of penetration," said coach Morris Hodges. "They were 13-16 on free throws in the first half, then didn't try a single one in the second half. They shot the ball really well from 3 and it kind of got away from us at the end of the first half."

The Vaqueros will take on L.A. Southwest in a consolation semifinal on Saturday at 4 p.m. College of the Desert topped Southwest 75-69 on Friday night.