No. 14 state-ranked Long Beach City College rallied late to knock off visiting El Camino College by a final score of 48-44. With the South Coast Conference win, LBCC improved 13-4 overall and 5-3 in conference play.
Long Beach's early-game shooting woes continued in tonight's contest, as the Vikings made just 8 of 32 from the field in the first half. El Camino closed out the first outscoring Long Beach 13-2 over the final eight minutes to take a commanding 31-18 advantage at the break.
But the Vikings turned things around in the second half, making big shots when they needed to.
Down by 10 points (38-28) with 9:23 to go, Long Beach scored nine unanswered points over the next minute. Freshman Symphony Logan's jumper pulled LBCC within one point (38-37). Just one minute later, sophomore Kala Amico's fastbreak layup and free throw after she was fouled gave Long Beach back the lead for good at 40-39 with 7:27 remaining.
Long Beach forced 32 El Camino turnovers and converted those into 29 points. The Warriors committed 20 turnovers alone in the second half.
Freshman Kaaron King (pictured) posted a double-double in the win, leading LBCC with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Charmaine Nelson chipped in with eight points and nine rebounds. Amico had a good all-around game with seven points, five rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
Christianna Willis led El Camino (10-6, 3-4 SCC) with eight points and 13 rebounds.
The Long Beach women return to action on Friday (Jan 20) when they host Pasadena City College in a 5 pm South Coast Conference game.
Photo by John Fajardo
