SBCC went cold for the last 10:33 of the first half on Wednesday night and Hancock used a 22-0 run to take command on the way to an 82-66 men’s basketball victory in the Sports Pavilion.
The Vaqueros (7-19, 3-8 WSC North) led 15-14 midway through the half but didn’t make a field goal for the last 10:33. Jordan Dina scored nine of his 22 points during the 22-point spurt that gave the visitors a 36-15 lead.
SBCC trailed 36-17 at the half after making just 7-of-32 from the field (21.9 percent) and missing all nine of its 3-point tries. The Vaqueros endured a span of 12:23 without a field goal before Tony Hawley made a follow shot with 18:10 to play.
“Turnovers fueled their big run and our defense was very poor during that stretch,” said coach Morris Hodges. “Hancock has been playing well. It’s tough to win when you go 10 minutes without scoring.
“We had a lot of missed layups in the first half and that didn’t help.”
Richard Somdah, playing his final home game for the Vaqueros, scored 21 points with five rebounds. Chris Vines had 16 points and seven boards and Hawley grabbed 13 rebounds.
Ali Langford paced second-place Hancock (13-13, 8-3) with 27 points and 12 rebounds. The WSC’s second-leading scorer made 13-of-18 free throws.
The Vaqueros shot better in the second half (48.6 percent) but finished 1-17 on 3-pointers.
After trailing by 27 (52-25) early in the second half, Santa Barbara got its full-court press going and pulled within 13 (64-51) on a follow shot by Hawley and two free throws from Vines. But the hill was too big to climb.
Hancock has won four straight and eight of its last nine.
The Vaqueros will play their final game on Saturday at Cuesta in San Luis Obispo, starting at 5 p.m.
