Hancock Men's Basketball Opens Season with 79-68 Win Over West Hills at Cuesta Tournament

Sophomore Shane Carney led all scorers with 21 points and sophomore transfer Kevin Baines added 14 to lead the Allan Hancock College men's basketball team to a season-opening 79-68 win over West Hills Coalinga during opening day of Cuesta College's Rabobank Tournament Friday afternoon.

Carney scored nine straight points for Hancock during a stretch in the first half to help the Bulldogs carry at 42-28 lead into the break. The point guard hit 7-of-8 from the free-throw line in the first half. Baines scored eight points in the first 20 minutes.

The Bulldogs never trailed in the final 20 minutes to secure the 11-point win as ten Bulldogs scored at least two points in the season opener.

Carney added nine points in the second half. He finished the game 12-for-14 from the charity stripe and 21 points overall to go with three rebounds and three assists.Hancock took 18 free throws in the second half, hitting 12 of them. The Bulldogs finished 24-for-33 at the line in the game for a 73 percent clip. West Hills went 24-for-32 on free throws.

Baines recorded four rebounds to go with his 14 points.

Sophomore guard Devin Davis and freshman forward DJ Searcy scored eight points apiece for Hancock. Davis pulled down a teamm-best seven rebounds for the Bulldogs. Freshman Spirit Ricks hit one 3-point shot to chip in seven points, two rebounds and three assists. Freshman guard Diego Lucas, who sank two 3-pointers, and forward Mayowa Akinsanya contributed six points apiece. Akinsanya had four rebounds. Freshman Trenton Mitchell added five rebounds, three points and two assists. Glenn Jordan, a freshman guard, dished out a team-best five assists to go with four points in the win.

The Bulldogs, who improved to 1-0, will face West Valley on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Cuesta College. Hancock defeated West Valley last year at the Cuesta tournament 78-64. The Bulldogs close the tournament Sunday against College of the Sequoias at 3 p.m. COS is ranked No. 18 in the state in the preseason poll.