Men's Basketball: Bulldogs Remain in Title Race with Win over SBCC, 78-47

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - The Allan Hancock College men's basketball team remains in the race for a share of the Western State Conference (North) crown after securing a decisive 78-47 victory over Santa Barbara City College on Wednesday afternoon. Prior to the game, the program honored six individuals as part of the Sophomore Night festivities: Jaren Johnson, Mylo Santos, Taevon Pierre-Louis, Jaden Pena, Noah Haaland, and Assad Madassalia. | BOX SCORE

Just one possession separated the two programs through the opening eight minutes of play after slow offensive starts for both sides, but Hancock (22-5, 10-1) managed to pull away after rattling off a quick 12-0 run in a three-minute timespan. The home squad cruised through the remainder of the first frame and held a 42-13 advantage at the intermission before outscoring the Vaqueros (8-19, 2-9) by two in the second half. As a team, the Bulldogs shot a red-hot 54.7 percent from the field while limiting SBCC to a 29.6 percent finish on the night. Coach Aye's crew also won the rebounding battle, 41-20, while scoring 40 points in the paint. 

A balanced scoring effort paved the way to victory as 10 members of the team found at least two points for AHC, with 44 of the program's 78 points coming from the reserves. Ay-Keen Richardson led the Bulldogs with a career-high tally of 13 points, which included a 3-for-4 showing from distance. Noah Haaland followed with 12 points off the bench while Jahki Parrinello and Messiah Darden-Bright added 10 apiece. Parrinello narrowly missed out on the coveted triple-double milestone after also snagging nine rebounds and dishing out eight assists. 

The regular season finale is set to take place at Ventura College on Friday, February 23rd, at 5 PM. The Bulldogs are currently half a game behind Moorpark College, who has already closed the conference slate with an 11-1 mark against league foes.