West L.A. took control midway through the first half on Friday and went on to defeat SBCC 97-79 in the opening round of the Thanksgiving Classic men’s basketball tournament at Oxnard College.
Freshman guard Alex DiManno topped the Vaqueros (1-5) with 26 points, four rebounds and five assists. He hit 9-of-17 from the field and 5-11 from 3-point range. J.P. Dodson added 12 points and four boards while Kenneth Edwards had eight points and three rebounds.
The Wildcats outshot the Vaqueros 56 to 38 percent and outrebounded them 43-36. West L.A. broke open a 19-19 tie with an 11-2 run that produced a 30-21 lead with six minutes left in the first half.
The Vaqueros trailed 47-35 at intermission and fell behind by 20 (59-39) with 15 minutes to play. Santa Barbara went on a 23-9 run to pull within six, 68-62, at the 10-minute mark. But the Vaqueros missed six of their next seven shots and the Wildcats boosted the lead to 14 points.
“They shot really well in the first half (7-12 on 3s) and we didn’t defend as well as we needed to,” said coach Morris Hodges. “When you don’t convert, you can’t stop those dynamic runs.”
The Vaqueros will play Compton or L.A. Harbor on Saturday at 3 p.m.
