Hancock Falls to No. 20 Bakersfield 67-55 to Open AHC Holiday Classic

Shooting 60 percent from the field, the Bakersfield College men's basketball team pulled away from the Bulldogs in the second half to score a 67-55 win during opening day of Allan Hancock College's 50^th annual Holiday Classic on Sunday evening. The Bulldogs dropped their third straight to fall to 5-8, while Bakersfield won its third straight to improve to 9-3. The Renegades are ranked 20^th in California and 10^th in Southern California.

The Bulldogs play San Jose City College, the third ranked team in the state, in the consolation round on Monday at 3 p.m. Bakersfield advanced to play Rio Hondo, which upset the Jaguars 83-80 in the first round.

Hancock stormed out to a 17-11 lead with 12:36 to play in the first half thanks to four points from Shamel Williams and Ali Mohammed, as well as five from Lavell White. However, the Renegades answered with a 13-3 run and carried a 36-35 lead into halftime. White scored 10 points in the first 20 minutes for the Bulldogs, while Lawrence Johnson added eight.

White scored a layup early in the second half to give Hancock a 38-37 lead with 18:54 to play. Bakersfield answered with an 8-0 run to regain the lead for good. The Bulldogs made five of their 24 shots in the second half for 21 percent, while Bakersfield shot 56 percent in the final 20 minutes by hitting 14 of its 25 shots. The Bulldogs got to the foul line 22 times in the second half, but made half of their free throws.

White led the Bulldogs with 16 points on five for 14 shooting. Johnson added 13 points when he hit five of 11 from the field, including two of five from three-point range. Williams added eight points and 10 rebounds, including eight offensive rebounds. Hancock made 18 of 55 shots overall for a 33 percent mark, including three of 16 from three-point range. The Bulldogs shot 59 percent from the free throw line by hitting 16 of 27.

Bakersfield's 6-9 star Deandre Dickson led the Renegades with 18 points and five rebounds. CJ Johnson and Isaiah Rogers added 10 points apiece. Rogers added five assists.

Bakersfield shot 60 percent from the field and 56 percent from three-point range. The Renegades outrebounded Hancock 25-22 and dished out 16 assists to Hancock's 10. 

Also on Sunday, Fresno blasted Santa Barbara 85-46 and Cerritos knocked off Cuesta 59-49. Santa Barbara plays Cuesta at 1 p.m. in the consolation round on Monday, followed by Hancock against San Jose at 3 p.m. Cerritos and Fresno play in the championship semifinals at 5 p.m., while Rio Hondo and Bakersfield close the second day at 7 p.m. The consolation championship will be at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, followed by the third place game at 3 p.m. and the championship game at 5 p.m.