Following an early lead set up by Warriors guard Rocco Gaffoglio, the ball virtually became a pumpkin in his team’s hands as they fumbled against the opposing score Halloween afternoon.

With only 24 seconds left in the match, Gaffoglio passed the ball straight to guard Kai Johnson, who assisted forward Justin Cricri on a game-winning layup that pushed the score to 66-65.

“I practice that shot every day, so I knew it was going to go in,” business major Cricri, 18, said.

After an intense game trailing the Santa Barbara City College Vaqueros, the El Camino College’s men’s basketball team treated itself to a 68-65 win during its season opener at the ECC Gymnasium on Friday, Oct. 31.

The match put the Warriors in good spirits after a frightful overall record (6-22) last season, whereas the Vaqueros’ had fared slightly better (8-20).

“We do tend to be a little more evenly matched each year, so that’s another reason why it’s always good to open up with a game that’s going to challenge you,” Warriors coach Robert Uphoff said.

The game marked the Warriors’ second consecutive win against the Vaqueros, breaking a loss-win pattern held between the two teams since their first matchup in the 2021-2022 season.

Last year’s match also spookily resulted in the Warriors winning by three points.

Gaffoglio, playing his first college basketball game, was the highest-scoring player across both teams with 24 points.

Just a minute and 33 seconds into the first period, he hit a jump shot, a free throw and a 3-pointer.

“I just got to my spots, hit my shots and my teammates trusted me,” business and finance major Gaffoglio, 18, said. “One thing I said to myself was just have confidence and knock down shots.”

Johnson made six assists, which was the most out of the game, and Cricri was the second-highest scorer with 20 points and had a game-high of eight rebounds.

Uphoff said the Warriors’ goals this season are to win 75% to 85% of their home games and be at least split on the road.

“Anytime you have many home games the expectation is obviously high,” Uphoff said. “[We] feel like the table is set for us to have a very successful season.”

This year the Warriors have 20 games — including conferences — at home, compared to the 11 they had last season.

Both teams have always won with a home game advantage since they began facing off four years ago.

The Vaqueros have won twice, in 2021 and 2023, with an 18-point lead defending their court each time.

Accordingly, the Vaqueros lassoed the highest lead of Friday’s game with 13 points, while the Warriors’ best lead was by six points.

“I thought we did a good job with our press early, obviously El Camino did some things to figure it out, and they made plays in crunch time at the end of the game, when it matters,” Vaqueros coach Devin Engebretsen said.

Engebretsen added that the Warriors’ players were larger and more physical than the Vaqueros.

“I felt like we need to improve in those areas in order to win close games like this,” he said.

Vaqueros guard Dante Calhoun, point guard Brycen Matthews and James Reach collected the most points for their team, scoring 15, 12 and 11 points each, respectively.

Gallery • 9 Photos

El Camino College Warriors sophomore guard Vaitai Tuione dives on the floor and tips the ball to his teammate, George Rand-Shambry, at the ECC Gymnasium on Friday, Oct. 31. (Ryan Hirabayashi | The Union)

Cricri, who attended Mira Costa High School with Reach, played a trick on him as he was attempting a shot during the second half.

“One of my old friends was shooting a free throw and I said an inside joke, so he missed,” Cricri said. “It’s always fun to go back against your old friends.”

Business major Calhoun, 21, said his team had a strong start and a good lead during the game, but faltered at the end.

“I guess we kept on losing our men, couldn’t find like what we were doing on defense,” Calhoun said. “I was getting rushed and sped up to the point where we just lost the game.”

Uphoff hopes the Warriors will defend their home court consistently and improve daily.

“We want to play fast, we want to be really aggressive on defense,” he said.

Over 50 attendees came to watch the game and cheer on their teams.

“We had a really good turnout as far as crowd and parental support — I thought we’d have nothing because it was Halloween, so I was actually really pleased,” Uphoff said.

Some spectators shouted to challenge the referee’s calls during the game.

“I think they were a little one-sided toward Santa Barbara,” Gaffoglio said. “[We] pulled through at the end with the ref[eree]s, but there were definitely some bad calls.”

Gaffoglio said Halloween made the game better by giving the team more energy.

“We have a good win and now we all get to hang out tonight,” he said.

The Warriors will next face the Fresno City College Rams at home Thursday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m.