Knights fall to other PCAC division champ
- Updated: December 12, 2018
By Nick Pellegrino
East County Sports staff writer
SAN BERNARDINO (12-12-2018) – In a battle between the two defending division champions from the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference, North titlist San Bernardino Valley tallied 65 second-half points, racing past South champ San Diego City College, 112-92, in Tuesday’s (Dec. 11) lone game involving a San Diego County community college.
The schools combined to post a record of 60-8 last season, so a tight battle was expected. And for 20 minutes, the contest matched it billing until the host Wolverines pulled away to win by a surprisingly comfortable margin.
The shooting tandem of Eric Hancik (30 points) and Damani Washington (28) shot 23-for-30 from the floor to subdue the Knights.
Hancik, a guard, went 23-for-16, including 5 triples, while Washington was 11-for-13 from mainly in the paint, yet only played a mere 19 minutes due to heavy foul trouble in the first half.
When Washington returned, he was unstoppable at 10-for-11 from the field.
When SBCC adjusted to cover him tighter, the ball was kicked out to Hancik, who nailed all three of his 3-point shots in the huge second-half explosion by San Bernardino Valley (7-3).
San Diego City (7-7) closed the first half on an 11-2 run to lead at the intermission, 49-47.
Oddly, the Knights’ scoring run was triggered after SBVC hit a three-pointer but surprisingly called a 30-second timeout.
This allowed SBCC to regroup, as Joseph Riley nailed consecutive treys off passes by Adrian Byrd-Elinek and Victor Irhirhi to tie it. A layin with 22 seconds left gave City the lead.
However, the Wolverines registered the first 11 points of the second half to gain full control. Williams scored 11 of the team’s first 13 points, including a traditional 3-point play to open the half to give San Bernardino the lead for keeps.
Byrd-Elinek and Riley paced the Knights with 18 points, while Kai Huntsberry added 16. From off the bench, Igho Eruvwetere registered 13 points, while Irhirhi had 12.
The contest became heated in the closing moments with the outcome already decided, with several technical fouls assessed. Two players were ejected.
