Pasadena broke open a tight contest with a 23-6 run in the second half on Saturday and went on to defeat SBCC 76-55 in the third-place game of the 39th annual SBCC Classic.
Givon Crump topped the Lancers (8-5) with 24 points. After leading 37-31 at the half, Pasadena hit 57.1 percent in the final 20 minutes (16-28) while the Vaqueros shot 32 percent (8-25).
Santa Barbara pulled within three at 43-40 on two free throws by JP Dodson with 14:05 to play. Crump hit a jumper and and a 3-pointer to start the 23-6 run that stretched the lead to 66-46 with 5:31 remaining.
Dodson and Chris Popov led the Vaqueros (2-10) with 10 points apiece. The home team committed 20 turnovers, leading to 26 Lancer points.
“The difference in the game was we had too many unforced turnovers,” said coach Morris Hodges. “We got careless with the basketball and they got some runouts. We had too many empty trips that kept us from getting shot attempts.“
Jalani Davis had seven points and four rebounds and Alex DiManno handed out four assists. Pasadena led 17-6 at the outset but SBCC rallied behind 3-pointers by Popov and Davis. They took their only leads at 22-21 and 24-23 on layups by Tanner Foster and Dodson.
Hancock won the Classic title by beating L.A. Valley 96-82. Tournament MVP Jordan O’Byrne tallied 33 points and seven rebounds. He hit 12-18 from the floor, including 6-11 from 3-point land.
The Bulldogs (8-3) took control with a 17-3 run midway through the second half. A triple by O’Byrne boosted the lead to 77-62 with 8:07 to play.
Andre Winn scored 26 to lead Cypress past West L.A. 81-77 in the consolation final.
The all-tourney team featured O’Byrne (MVP) and teammate Abe Millsap (18 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists); Marcus Johnson (18 points) and Alex Strauther of L.A. Valley; Givon Crump of Pasadena and Andre Winn of Cypress.
The Vaqueros will be off until after Christmas when they open play in the Hancock Holiday Classic on Dec. 28 against Butte.
