Men's Basketball: Bulldogs Fall in Overtime Battle with WHC Coalinga

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - The Allan Hancock College men's basketball team fell in heartbreaking fashion at home against West Hills College-Coalinga, 74-72, in an overtime battle on Wednesday evening. | BOX SCORE

The back-and-forth showdown saw 10 lead changes and nine ties as neither team could build much of a cushion. Hancock (4-4) had the largest lead for both sides at 10 points with just over four minutes left in the opening half, but was unable to keep the Falcons (5-3) from cutting the double digit advantage to just one point at the intermission.

Coalinga held a one-possession lead with four seconds remaining on the clock before being charged with a technical foul for having too many men on the floor. Mylo Santos made both free throws after the foul was assessed to force the overtime period. Assad Madassalia and Taevon Pierre-Louis opened the extra time with back-to-back layups, but the Falcons responded with a three-pointer and a free throw to tie it back up. Jahki Parrinello pushed Hancock ahead once more with a shot from long range, but the visiting crew secured the victory with a successful trip to the charity stripe and a basket from beyond the arc in the final seconds. 

The Bulldogs outscored WHC in the paint with a 40-24 advantage, but struggled from the three-point line after a 17.2 percent (5-for-29) showing compared to the Falcons red-hot 52.6 percent finish from distance. Santos led the team with 21 points off of the bench, followed by 12 points from Madassalia. Madassalia also recorded a season-high of five blocks while he and Pierre-Louis snagged a team-best mark of eight rebounds each. 

Up next for Coach Aye's team is a road trip to West Hills College Lemoore on Saturday, December 2nd, at 5 PM.