L.A. Southwest edges Vaqueros 72-70 in overtime

Deric Daniels made a layup with 11 seconds left on Thursday night and SBCC misfired on a 3-pointer and a 15-footer, allowing L.A. Southwest to pull out a 72-70 overtime win in the opening round of the Southwest Intensity Classic.

Dejon Jackson poured in 21 points and grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds for the Vaqueros (1-9). Jackson hit 9-of-17 from the field but was just 3-10 from the free-throw line. D'Lano Beckles topped the Cougars (4-6) with 17 points and seven rebounds.

The Vaqueros struggled from the charity stripe, making only 10 of 24. Southwest was slightly better at 10-20.

Aaron Mejia, a freshman left-hander from Montebello, tossed in 15 points and Donald Grant recorded season highs with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Drayten Howell had nine points, seven assists and four rebounds.

SBCC trailed 29-26 at the half and fell behind by 10 (57-47) with 7:36 to play. The Vaqueros closed on a 17-7 run and tied it on back-to-back 3-point plays by Grant and Howell. Howell's jumper and free throw tied the game 64-64 with 1:18 to play in regulation.

Howell dropped in a 3-pointer for a 69-66 lead with 1:23 to go in the five-minute extra session. Austin Toomalatai hit a 3 just 13 seconds later to tie it again.

After Daniels' layup made it 72-70, Howell missed a pull-up triple in transition. Grant grabbed the rebound and missed a 15-footer at the buzzer.

The Vaqueros will take on L.A. Valley on Friday at 3 p.m.