Hot-shooting Vaqueros rout Pierce 90-70 in season finale

SBCC rode its best shooting night of the season to a 90-70 rout of L.A. Pierce on Saturday night in the season finale at the Sports Pavilion.

Freshman forward Evan Tillman poured in 26 points, making 8-13 from the field and 9-10 from the free-throw line. Robert Hutchins added 23 points on 9-14 shooting, including 3-7 from the 3-point line. Tillman, Hutchins and Tejon Williams topped the rebounding chart with six apiece.

Williams added 16 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Vaqueros (3-9, 8-18), who shot 54.5 percent overall and 52.6 percent on treys (10-19). They were really hot in the first half, using a 23-6 run to erase a 26-20 deficit and take a 43-32 lead.

Williams was named first-team All-WSC North. He was the eighth-leading scorer in WSC games (17.8) and first in assists (5.8). Tillman (18.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg) was honorable mention.

      2016 All-WSC North Team

The Vaqueros hit 56.7 percent in the first 20 minutes and knocked down 8-12 from long distance, making four straight 3's at one point. Tillman hit a triple from the right side with one second left to give the home team a 49-38 halftime lead.

Kenny Stenhouse had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Pierce, which jumped out to early leads of 16-6 and 24-12.

"It was a good overall team performance," said 26th-year head coach Morris Hodges. "We shifted to a zone after falling behind 16-6 and that slowed the tempo down and helped stop their penetration.

"We had three guys in double figures and did a good job of sharing the basketball."

The Brahmas (11-18, 4-8) pulled within four (68-64) on an inside bucket by Montel Shirley. The Vaqueros responded with a 14-3 burst that started with two free throws by Williams and a reverse layup from Juvenal Tapia.

SBCC ended on a 22-6 run, including a pair of jumpers by Cody Williams, who was honored as the only sophomore prior to the game.

Jerry Leon added eight points and five rebounds off the bench and Tapia, a freshman from Santa Barbara High, also had eight points, helping the Vaqueros to a 16-3 advantage in bench points.

The Vaqueros outshot the Brahmas 50 to 27.8 percent in the second half. SBCC hit 10-19 from 3-point land for the game and converted 20-22 free throws.

"It was great to see us come out and compete and band together to finish on a high note," Hodges stated. "Juvenal gave us some good minutes off the bench and Jerry also played well, particularly in the first half.

"For the season, we weren't as productive as we would have liked in terms of wins and losses. We lost a couple of overtime games and a couple of 2 or 3 possession games in conference. We have a good nucleus of freshmen and we went through the wars this year.

"I think the potential is good if these guys can stick together and come back with an even higher standard next year. If we keep improving our communication and leadership, I really think we can go to another level."