No.16 Hancock Men's Basketball Beats Santa Barbara 68-56 for Seventh Straight Win

Shane Carney scored 22 points, and Spirit Ricks recorded his third straight double-double to lead the Allan Hancock College men's basketball to a 68-56 victory over visiting Santa Barbara City College Saturday evening. The Bulldogs, ranked No. 16 in the state this week, extended their winning streak to seven, the program's longest streak in at least 12 seasons. The Bulldogs improved to 7-1 in Western State Conference play to stay in first place and 20-8 overall.
Hancock has reached the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign. The Vaqueros dropped their 13th in a row to fall to 0-8 in conference and 1-20 overall.

Ventura, which started the day tied for first in the conference standings with Hancock at 6-1, was scheduled to tip off at home against Moorpark at 7 p.m Saturday.

Ricks scored two quick buckets as the Bulldogs scored the first six points of the game and led from start to finish. Carney went 5-for-8 from 3-point range for 15 points in the first half to help the Bulldogs carry a 37-27 lead into intermission. Hancock led by as many as 17 points in the first half. SBCC climbed to within three points at 54-51 with 6:55 to play, but the Bulldogs outscored SBCC 14-5 the rest of the way to earn their third win of the season against the Vaqueros.

Carney finished with 22 points on a 7-for-11 effort from the field, including a 5-for-8 showing from beyond-the-arc. He went 3-for-4 from the line to go with two steals and two assists. The sophomore upped his season total to 85 3-point buckets, five behind tying the program's single-season record of 90. Carney has 143 career triples, leaving him eight behind the program record of 151 career 3-pointers. Arroyo Grande High School graduate Matt Willkomm set both records two years ago.

Ricks went 7-for-11 from the floor and 2-for-5 from the line to finish with 16 points and 11 rebounds, four of which came on the offensive end. Ricks finished with three steals and two assists to go along with his seventh double-double of the season.

Devin Davis chipped in five points, five rebounds and five assists, while Trenton Mitchell had five points and seven boards. Glenn Jordan added eight points, while John Riddick contributed four points and five rebounds off the bench.

Overall, Hancock shot 43 percent from the field by sinking 23 of its 53 shots. Hancock went 7-for-21 from 3-point range and 15-for-25 from the free-throw line. The Bulldogs pulled down 17 offensive rebounds that led to 19 second-chance points. SBCC shot 39 percent from the floor and ended with 31 rebounds.

Ryan Smith led SBCC with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Drayten Howell added 12 points and seven boards.

The Bulldogs will return to action Wednesday, February 14 at Cuesta at 7 p.m. Hancock beat the Cougars 83-80 last month inside Joe White Memorial Gymnasium. Cuesta (3-4, 13-15) is hosting Oxnard at 7 p.m. this evening.