Hancock Fall 69-60 to Cuesta

Hancock Fall 69-60 to Cuesta
January 23, 2016

Shane Carney scored 16 points to lead a trio of Bulldogs in double digits, but the Allan Hancock College men's basketball team fell 69-60 to Cuesta College on Saturday evening. The game marked the first meeting between the two rivals who shared the Western State Conference title last season. The Bulldogs fell to 2-4 in conference play and 10-13 overall. Cuesta, the No. 15 team in California, improved to 5-0 in conference and 18-6 for the season.

Cuesta jumped out to a 9-0 lead, but Hancock regained composure. The Bulldogs eventually climbed to within three points when Malik Rhodes buried a three-point jumper to make it a 21-18 game with 8:02 to play in the first half. The Bulldogs trailed 32-26 at halftime.

The Cougars opened the second half on a 24-12 run to build its biggest lead at 56-38 with 7:40 to play. The Bulldogs chipped away behind six points from Carney and two three-pointers from sophomore guard Matt Willkomm. The Bulldogs climbed to within 62-54 with 2:54 remaining. However, the Bulldogs' could not complete the comeback.

Carney led the Bulldogs with 16 points on six for 14 shooting. The freshman added five assists. Rhodes added 14 points and three rebounds. Rhodes hit four of his 11 shots and five of his seven free throws.

Willkomm hit four of his 10 shots from the floor, including three of seven from three-point range. The Arroyo Grande High School graduate finished with 11 points, four assists and two steals. Freshman forward Tim Ford added eight points and 10 rebounds. Marcellus Garrick added seven points. 

Hancock finished the game shooting 38 percent (21 for 55) that included a five for 23 effort (22 percent) from three-point range. The Bulldogs sank 13 of their 16 free throws.

Cuesta shot 46 percent (27 for 58) overall and sank nine of their 26 three-point attempts (34 percent). The Cougars held the edge with 42 rebounds to Hancock's 24 boards. 

Evgeniy Moiseev led the Cougars with 23 points and 11 rebounds. He hit four of seven from three-point range. Roberto Mantovani added 20 points, a team-high 18 boards and three steals.

The Bulldogs will return to action and open the second half of conference on Saturday, Jan. 30 at Santa Barbara City College. Tipoff will be at 7 p.m. Hancock came from behind to stun the Vaqueros 79-77 in overtime in its conference opener earlier this month.