Men's basketball team loses to Southwestern in close home game

El Camino men’s basketball team kept it close but couldn’t get over the hump as they fell to 2-4 on the season following a loss during their match against the Southwestern Jaguars on Wednesday, Nov. 22.

The Warriors came out hot and showcased some quick momentum as guard Miguel Javier made their first three-pointer of the night.

This momentum helped them jump out to an early 7-2 lead. But the Jaguars wouldn’t concede, launching a 10-0 run and shifting the score to 12-7.

The Warriors were sticking with their game plan of dribbling less and making quick passes, allowing them to keep finding open teammates in the paint.

“That’s kind of our main look in offense,” Javier said. “That way we could get the inside look, and if they double team, we could kick it out to the shooters outside.”

The inside look was there the entire first half, but it was a tough shooting night for the Warriors, as they shot 36.7% from the field and just 20% from behind the arc.

Southwestern did an excellent job of getting out in transition, scoring 13 of their 27 first-half points off the fastbreak.

The Warriors were defending Southwestern’s half-court offense well without fouling, as the Jaguars only shot two free throws in the first half.

“We turned the intensity up,” Warriors guard Billy Ray Barnes III said. “The refs were letting us play [hard] basketball for a little bit, so that was really nice.”

After a nice first half from Barnes III, who had 12 points and four rebounds on 5-6 shooting from the field, the Warriors went back to the locker room down by one, with a score of 27-26.

The second half started with a Warriors turnover that led to a made three-pointer for the Jaguars.

The Warriors were doing a good job of protecting the paint on defense, but the Jaguars zone defense was giving them trouble, making them turn the ball over 11 times in the second half.

“I think we were really indecisive,” Warriors coach Robert Uphoff said. “I was really disappointed with our lack of awareness of being able to get us into our sets against zones.”

The Jaguars took advantage of the Warriors’ offense, scoring 22 points off turnovers, while the Warriors could only manage to score 9.

Despite the turnovers and rough shooting, the Warriors were still only trailing by four points with three minutes left in the second half.

Three consecutive turnovers and a missed shot from the Warriors iced the game for the Jaguars, who walked away with a 62-52 win on the Warriors home court.

The Warriors’ shooting struggles kept them out of the game, shooting only 33% from the field and 56% from the free throw line.

Barnes III put together another nice game, with 21 points, six rebounds, and three steals while shooting 9-13 from the field.

His efforts on the court got the crowd on their feet and sent a surge of energy throughout the building.

The next opportunity for the Warriors is an away game on Nov. 29 against LA Pierce College.

“We’ve had some guys out with injuries, so these next seven days are key to give our guys [some days off],” Uphoff said. “We’re coming up on our longest road trip, so we definitely need to refocus, and hopefully have a fresh start and be more energet.”