Men's Basketball Opens 55th Annual Holiday Classic with Loss to San Jose

Hancock Men's Basketball entered the 55th Annual Allan Hancock Holiday Classic ranked 8th in the state and sported a 10-2 record. Hancock boasts the best record of any team participating in the tournament this season. Hancock played in the second game of the day against San Jose City College. San Jose is coached by Devin Aye, brother to Hancock Head Coach Tyson Aye.

Big men Mayowa Akinsanya and DJ Searcy led the team in points but it would not be enough as San Jose rallied late to overcome a 13 point deficit and hand the Bulldogs a 67-64 loss Saturday night. 

Akinsanya ended the game leading the Bulldogs in scoring with 14 points as well as picked up five rebounds and an assist. He went 7-for-13 from the field.

Searcy added 13 points as well as seven rebounds and four assists. 

Both teams played well in the first with Hancock taking a four point lead into the half 42-38. The Bulldogs started to slowly pull away in the second half and amassed a 13 point lead with only eight minutes to go in the game 60-47. For the final eight minutes San Jose went on a 20-4 run to come back and win 67-64. 

Hancock led the game in most stat categories. They had the better shooting percentage 39-37, a better rebound differential 40-28, and more assists 17-11. The deciding factor however was the foul differential. Hancock racked up 31 fouls to San Jose's 22, a season high mark for the Bulldogs. Three Hancock players fouled out. The Bulldogs are currently dead last in the state in total personal fouls per game at nearly 25. San Jose made the most of the fouls and shot 27-for-38 or 71% from the charity stripe. Hancock shot 58%. 

Kyle Harding led the team in assists with seven and Xavier Cooper led the team in rebounds with nine. 

Men's Basketball starts the 55th Annual Holiday Classic at 0-1 and the loss drops Hancock to 10-3. San Jose improved to 4-9. Hancock looks to bounce back against the 5-6 LA Southwest Cougars Saturday, December 29, at 5:00 PM. The Cougars won a close game against Moorpark College 79-71 in the third game of day one. Be sure to follow Bulldog Athletics on the website or on social media at "ahcbulldogs" on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. To watch LIVE Men's Basketball, follow @coachtyaye on Twitter for the live feed!