L.A. Pierce broke open a tight game with a 14-2 run in the first half on Wednesday night and went on to beat SBCC 92-46 in a WSC North men’s basketball contest at the Sports Pavilion.
The first-place Brahmas (13-10, 5-1) opened on a 14-2 run, thanks to four 3-point baskets. The Vaqueros (4-14, 0-6) pulled within five at 25-20 on a triple by Sean Keyes and a layup by Wallace Baker-Mason with 9:29 to go in the first half.
The Brahmas responded with another 14-2 burst, ignited by back-to-back 3s from Jordan Fuller. They extended the lead to 39-22 on a jumper by Devron Reynolds and led 50-33 at the half.
“Their press got us early and then we got back within five with 9½ minutes to go,” said coach Morris Hodges. “Then we only scored two points in the next four minutes. They had taken off the full-court press and we still had four turnovers. That was the critical juncture where the game got away from us.”
The Brahmas outshot the Vaqueros 53.6 to 25 percent in the second half and outscored them 42-13. Pierce shot nearly 52 percent for the game, including 11-26 on 3-pointers. SBCC hit 36 percent but only made 2-17 from long range.
Elijah Grant scored nine in a row in the opening half and tallied a season-high 11 points for Santa Barbara. Grant, a 6-4 freshman from West Linn, Oregon who’s the son of former NBA player Brian Grant, hit 5-6 from the field and nailed his second 3-pointer of the year. He grabbed four rebounds before fouling out with 4:22 to play.
Lorenzo Goines led a balanced Pierce attack with 17 points while Fuller and Trey Archambeau had 15 apiece. Pierce is tied for first place with Cuesta and Hancock after the first round of conference play.
Keyes added nine points for the Vaqueros while Thomas Walker had seven points and six rebounds. Alonzo McCain handed out five assists and Julian Lofton collected five rebounds.
Pierce put the game away by opening the second half on a 19-3 run that extended the lead to 33 points at 69-36.
SBCC had 20 turnovers, leading to 25 Brahma points.
After a bye on Saturday, the Vaqueros will host Oxnard in the Coaches vs. Cancer game on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
