Both Long Beach City College basketball programs hit the hardwood today with the men competing against tournament host Chaffey College in the Chaffey Tournament and the women squaring off against the No. 7 Mt. San Antonio Mounties at home.
Men's Hoops – Chaffey 90 Long Beach 89 (Final)
After coming off a dominate victory over Santa Barbara on January 31, the men continued to play solid basketball despite being edged by Chaffey by one point.
The Vikings trailed by 10 points early in the contest, but slowly began to chip away at the Chaffey lead when sophomore guard Justin Richardson drilled a three pointer with five minutes remaining in the first half. Sophomore guard William English maintain the spread a possession later by hauling in an offensive board which acted as a tip-in. Freshman guard Charles Smith capped off the scoring for Long Beach in the first half by accumulating five points that included a three pointer to bring the score to 45-52 at halftime.
The contest remained close in the second half as the Vikings cut the Chaffey lead down to four points compliments of a three pointer each from sophomore guard Breamon Richard and Smith. Freshman guard Mark Neal Jr. got in on the scoring action by earning seven points on three-consecutive possessions to pull within three points with the score reading 61-63 nearing the halfway mark.
Richard began to heat up the hardwood and brought the Vikings to within one by knocking down a clutch shot from beyond the arc and into a timeout for Long Beach. English began to follow suit by hitting two free throws and a three pointer two short minutes later to bring them within two at 83-85 with 4:18 remaining.
However, despite a three pointer from Richard at the game's end, a three-minute scoring drought haunted the Vikings in the end en route to the 89-90 loss.
Richard increased his streak of scoring in double-digits to 14-straight games by flushing 28 points to go along with four assists. Smith followed suit successfully by dropping 25 points. He was three rebounds shy of earning a double-double after hauling in seven boards.
Women's Hoops – Mt. San Antonio 76 Long Beach 54
The women faced off against the Mounties for the third time this this season and second-consecutive contest. Despite heating up from the floor in the fourth quarter and outscoring Mt. SAC 20-5, a slow start haunted the Vikings en route to the sizable defeat.
With a limited active roster, the Vikings saw three starters in double-digit scoring. Sophomroe Miranda Martinez notched a double-double by dropping 13 points and hauling in 11 rebounds. Additionally, she swatted three shots away and dished out four assists.
Freshman guard Alexis Camarena was a spark plug in her first-career start by drilling 10 points with most coming off solid handles and driving the lane. She earned five rebounds as well.
Sophomore guard Tiana Augustus was second on the team in scoring with 12 points, while freshman guard CeAirra Clement dropped eight points off the bench.