Sports

Commanding second half performance leads El Camino men’s basketball team to victory over College of the Desert

By Ivan Gonzalez • November 17, 2023

El Camino men’s basketball player Jedaiah Mortimer throws a bounce pass to teammate Vaitai Tuione during the Warriors game on Wednesday, Nov.16. El Camino faced off against Desert of the College in the Gymnasium building at El Camino College.

After being out-rebounded 23-13 in the first half of a home game against the College of the Desert Roadrunners, El Camino College men’s basketball team needed to make some adjustments.

During halftime Warriors coach Robert Uphoff addressed the lack of rebounds in the first half.

“I was not pleased with the rebounding in the first half, especially on the offensive side,” Uphoff said. “We had a size advantage against [College of the Desert] so we had to take advantage of the mismatch.”

The lack of rebounding was addressed as the Warriors corrected their first half flub, out rebounding the Roadrunners 21-11 with a commanding second half on defense and offense.

With guards Chase Williams (10 points, 2 rebounds) and Vaitai Tuione (13 points, 4 rebounds) giving key second-half performances the El Camino Warriors managed an 80-61 win over College of the Desert during the Nov. 15 game inside the Gym Complex.

El Camino men's basketball player Aaron Cortes jumps for the tip-off to start the Warriors game against Desert of the college on Wednesday, Nov. 16 in the Gymnasium building at El Camino College. (Ivan Gonzales | The Union).

The Wednesday win gave the Warriors their second victory of the season.

Back in the first half, the Warriors got off to a quick start in the first seven minutes of the game, leading 21-9.

College of the Desert then scored 11 unanswered points to make the game 21-20 with 10 minutes remaining in the first half.

This run was led by Roadrunners sophomore Jermayn Baxter, who was dictating the offense by scoring 8 points and dishing out two assists in the first half.

Baxter (14 points, 2 assists) and freshman Wilfred Weir (15 points 6 rebounds) were the best performers for College of the Desert.

Even though the Warriors went through scoring droughts during the first half, they were able to maintain a lead with a score of 41-37.

Sophomore Billy Ray Barnes shoots and scores a floater to secure the 80-68 victory against Desert College. — Sophomore Billy Ray Barnes attempts a floater to secure the 80-68 victory against Desert of the College on Wednesday, Nov. 16 in the Gymnasium building at El Camino College. (Ivan Gonzales | The Union).

However, the bright spark in the first half for the Warriors was freshman Shamar Carter who scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half. Shamar hit five shots from beyond the arc in the first half.

After only making one shot in the Warriors opening game of the season, Carter has been averaging 17 points in the last three games.

“All thanks to my assistant coaches who helped me with my shots and reads after the first game,” Carter said. “I felt good on the court and my teammates were able to find me good open looks.”

Another spark for the Warriors was freshman Ryan Hirabayashi.

Hirabayashi kept the energy up for El Camino, always being the help man in the trap defense and even hit the hardwood as he drew a charging foul for the Warriors.

Freshman Vaitai Tuione shoots and scores at the free throw line. — El Camino men's basketball player Vaitai Tuione attempts a free throw during the Warriors game on Wednesday, Nov. 16 in the Gymnasium building at El Camino College. (Ivan Gonzales | The Union).

“I am trying to do as much as I can to help the team win, I want to cause havoc on defense personally and try to get looks and opportunities on the offensive end,” Hirabayashi said.

El Camino had 17 turnovers but was able to force 23 turnovers on the defensive end giving the Warriors 17 points off turnovers.

“One of the goals of the season is to limit our turnovers to 15 or less per game and create more on the defensive side where we need to play good defense for the entirety of the game,” Uphoff said.