Bakersfield broke open a tight game with a 15-3 run to end the first half and start the second on Saturday, then went on to hand SBCC a 67-54 men’s basketball defeat in the first round of the Hancock Holiday Tournament in Santa Maria.
Pablo Miranda scored 10 and Alonzo McCain added eight points and five rebounds for the Vaqueros (1-8), who were playing their first game in 15 days. Van Holloway hit 3-6 from long range and led the Renegades (9-4) with 19 points.
The Vaqueros pulled within three, 23-20, on a layup by Miranda with 6:09 to go in the first half. Bakersfield scored the last five points to lead 28-20 at intermission.
The Renegades opened the second half on a 10-3 spurt to stretch their advantage to 38-23 with 17:05 remaining.
The Renegades outshot the Vaqueros 49 to 41 percent and enjoyed a plus-9 advantage at the free-throw line, making 19-24 compared to 10-19 for Santa Barbara. The Vaqueros had 17 turnovers, leading to 17 points.
Santa Barbara will play WSC North rival Cuesta on Sunday at 1 p.m. Cuesta fell to No. 2 Fresno City 60-53.
