The Long Beach City College men's basketball team continued action in the College of the Desert Tip Off Classic Friday evening by facing off against the West L.A. Wildcats. In a high-scoring affair that featured an 81-all tie with 2:20 remaining in the game, Long Beach failed to execute and ultimately fell by the final score of 87-94.
The Vikings jumped on the Wildcats first with two, quick three pointers off the hand of sophomore Breamon Richard. Freshman Tyler Dees got in on the scoring action early by hitting two free throws and a layup leading to a LBCC timeout.
After losing the lead with just under 14 minutes remaining in the first half, the Vikings regained the lead with a freshman Duwane Hicks finding freshman William English for a layup just under the 10 minute mark.
A back and forth effort began to ensue with both teams trading three pointers on three-consecutive possessions. Freshman Garret Roberts, Hicks, and freshman Mark Neal Jr. kept the Vikings within striking distance by hitting three-consecutive three-pointer at the six minute mark to keep the LBCC deficit at six points. A small 5-1 run at the conclusion of the first half faced the Vikings with a 45-47 deficit entering into the second half.
Things began to heat up in right out of the gates in the final 20 minutes of the contest due in part to the seven lead changes and six ties throughout the duration of the second half.
The largest Viking lead came just after the seven minute mark thanks to a three pointer by Richard. He later drew a foul on the following possession and hit two free throws to hand the Vikings a five-point advantage. English continued to cart a hot hand from downtown by drilling a three to keep the distance form West LA at four points.
However, LBCC faltered following the two-minute mark an eventually let the game slip from their grasp in an 87-94 defeat.
Richard led the way with 23 points which included a 5-for-10 mark from beyond the arc. Blandin was one rebound shy of a double-double by finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds
English led the bench brigade with 15 points, while Hicks backed him with 10. Neal Jr. had a well-rounded game by flushing eight points, dishing out two assists, and hauling in two rebounds.