Big second half carries Bulldogs over Vaqueros, 96-85

Marcellus Garrick and Kevawn Lord combined for 50 points on Saturday night, leading Hancock to a 96-85 men's basketball win over SBCC on "Coaches vs. Cancer Night" in the Sports Pavilion.

It was the first win in three tries this season for the Bulldogs (13-15, 3-5 WSC North) against the Vaqueros (5-19, 3-5).

Garrick tallied 26 points on 8-14 field-goal shooting, including 4-9 from downtown. His slam dunk at the end of the first half gave the visitors a 40-34 advantage.

SBCC point guard Drayten Howell scored 22 of his season-high 26 points in the second half thanks to 9-11 shooting in the last 20 minutes. He hit 10-17 field goals and 6-7 free throws while handing out six assists for the fifth straight game.

Left-hander Chris Givens added 16 points, including 4-7 on long-range shots. Robert Hutchins had 14 points and five assists and Ben Clay had his third double-double in the last four games with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Robert Livingston, a 6-5 freshman from Danville, made 6-7 from the field and scored a season-best 13 points with eight rebounds. The Vaqueros were outrebounded 37-29, including 16-7 at the offensive end.

"The game was decided in the first half when we didn't allow our offense to help us," said 27th-year coach Morris Hodges. "We had 10 first-half turnovers leading to 14 points. It was important for us to have quality possessions, to score and make them attack our set defense. The turnovers led to runouts and there were a lot of transition baskets. That fueled their energy level and really hurt ours."

The Vaqueros took an early 14-7 lead on a layup by Livingston but the Bulldogs responded with a 18-4 burst. A dunk by Erik Kinnebrew and a jump hook by Deon Whiteside gave the visitors a 25-18 advantage with 7:25 to go in the opening half.

"We were down six at halftime but we didn't play that well in the first half," noted Hodges.

Hancock opened the second half on a 16-5 run and took a 56-39 lead on a follow shot by Deon Whiteside. The lead grew to 21 points (74-53) on a follow shot by Lord with 10:04 to go.

The Bulldogs won a 56-51 shootout in the final 20 minutes. Both teams were hot in the second half with the Vaqueros hitting a sizzling 65.5 percent (19-29) and the Bulldogs not far behind at 57.6 percent (19-33).

"We were playing uphill most of the night and then we got in foul trouble," Hodges added. "And they hurt us on the offensive boards."

Hutchins picked up his fourth foul with 16:43 to play and three other Vaqueros had four fouls by the 11:34 mark. Clay fouled out with 5:10 remaining.

SBCC travels to Moorpark on Wednesday at 5 p.m.