TORRANCE, CA – The SBCC men's basketball team found itself in a one possession game down the stretch of Tuesday's season opener at El Camino, but came up just short in a 64-58 defeat.
Second year Vaquero guards Wilfrid Nado (13 points), Elijah Simpson (11) and Jaelen Bates (11) led SBCC on the offensive end. Forward Aidan Mandel went for 10 points (4-9 FG) in his Vaquero debut.
Santa Barbara led by 10 points in both halves, embarking on a 14-0 run midway through the first half to go up 30-20. The Vaqueros would take their largest lead, 44-33 early in the second half on a layup by Tyler Williams.
Over the final 10 minutes though, the game would belong to the Warriors. Trailing 51-41, Miguel Javier hit a three to start an 11-2 El Camino run. With under two minutes remaining, the Warriors would take their first lead since early in the game courtesy of a Billy Ray Barnes III jumpshot.
On SBCC's next possession, Williams tied the game at 58-58 with a free throw but missed the second, and Barnes III put his team back ahead with a bucket inside. Nado missed a potential game-tying shot with less than a minute left and the Warriors would put the game away at the free throw line.
Aside from leading the team in scoring, Nado finished with a team-high three assists and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the line. Simpson (4-5 FG) and Bates (4-8 FG) both had efficient shooting nights, but the difference came from the outside, where SBCC shot 21.4 percent compared to 41.2 percent for the home side.
The Vaqueros will be on the road for their first 10 games this season, with their next one coming up this Saturday, Nov. 5 at Bakersfield at 12:00 p.m.
