Robert Hutchins scored 18 of his career-high 27 points in the first half on Friday afternoon but SBCC came up short in a 102-96 men's basketball shootout at El Camino in Torrance.
Hutchins, a 6-foot sophomore from Bismarck, N.D., also set a career high for assists with seven. He hit 10-of-18 from the field and 3-5 from 3-point country.
Ben Clay added 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Vaqueros (0-3). Jamal Heckard topped the Warriors (3-0) with 25 points. El Camino entered the game as the top-scoring team in the state with a 95.5 average.
The 96 points were the most scored by the Vaqueros since last year's SBCC Classic when they beat Desert 96-84 in the semifinals on Dec. 11.
Clay scored 17 in a high-scoring first half but the Vaqueros trailed 59-57. Jesse DeVries finished with nine points and Calvin "Josh" Chapital had eight.
Santa Barbara shot 54.8 percent for the game and El Camino was close behind at 53.7. The Warriors were 9-22 on 3-pointers and attempted 21 more free throws than the Vaqueros, making 21-39. SBCC was 3-14 on triples and 13-18 from the line.
SBCC returns to action on Friday in the Hancock Tournament. They'll take on Chabot from Hayward, Calif., at 1 p.m.
