Rio Hondo Upsets Hancock 82-55 to Open Bulldog Classic

The 49^th annual Holiday Classic did not start according to plan for the host Allan Hancock College men's basketball team. The Bulldogs trailed from start to finish and lost in the first round 82-55 to Rio Hondo on Saturday night in Joe White Memorial Gymnasium.

The Bulldogs, who were ranked 13^th in the state and 7^th in the Southern California Regional polls, dropped to 8-7 on the season. Hancock has dropped three out of its last four games. Teyvon Myers, Hancock's leading scorer at 23 points per game, did not suit up for the Bulldogs' home opener for unspecified disciplinary reasons.

Warren Dix led the Bulldogs with 10 points. Kadeem Minor added 8 points. Hancock shot 32.8 percent for the game and hit 19 of its 58 shots from the floor. The Bulldogs turned the ball over 19 times, while Rio Hondo committed just seven turnovers.

Hancock returns to action on Sunday at 3 p.m., in the consolation bracket. The Bulldogs face the El Camino (2-7), which lost to San Jose City College 70-61 in the first round.

Rio Hondo scored the first six points of the game on two 3-point buckets and never trailed the rest of the way. The Bulldogs tied it 12-12 on a layup from Isaiah Hicks with 13:06 to go in the first half. However, Rio Hondo went on a 14-7 run fueled by several offensive rebounds to take a 26-19 lead into halftime. Hancock shot just 26.7 percent in the first half on 8 for 30 shooting from the floor.

The Roadrunners sprinted out of the gates in the second half and outscored the Bulldogs 30-10 in the first 10 minutes. Rio Hondo shot 58.1 percent in the second half and outscored Hancock 56-36 in the final 20 minutes.

Four Roadrunners scored in double figures led by Anthony Farmer and Jonathan Cortez, who scored 15 points apiece.  Rio Hondo shot 45.4 percent for the game, including 9 for 15 (60%) from 3-point range.

Also on Saturday, Cuesta College battled the No.2 team in the state, but the Cougars lost 60-53 to Fresno City College. The Cougars tied the game 51-51 with about three minutes to play in the game, but went scoreless the next two minutes. Oscar Pedroso led the Cougars with 21 points. Cuesta, which is ranked 14^th in the most recent Southern California Regional poll, drops to 8-7 overall.  The Rams, who are ranked first in the Nor-Cal Regional poll, improved to 14-1. Chris Ashanti led Fresno to its second win of the season over Cuesta with 11 points off the bench. 

Cuesta faces Santa Barbara in a battle of Western State Conference teams at 1 p.m. on Sunday in the consolation bracket. The Vaqueros lost 67-54 to Bakersfield on Saturday. Santa Maria native Van Holloway scored a game-high 19 points for Bakersfield. The Righetti High School graduate hit three 3-point buckets for the Renegades, who improved to 9-4 overall. Pablo Miranda led SBCC with 10 points. The Vaqueros are 1-8 this season.

Bakersfield battles Fresno at 5 p.m. on Sunday in a semifinal. Rio Hondo faces San Jose in the second semifinal at 7 p.m. San Jose is the defending tournament champion.