One offensive rebound by guard Kai Johnson, a mid-range look by forward Justin Cricri and two defensive stops were some of the Warriors’ late-generated chances during the men’s basketball game Thursday, Dec. 11.
Despite Johnson’s 32-point career high, the Warriors men’s basketball team came up short (6-4) in their overtime loss, 96-92, to the Barstow College Vikings (3-6) at the El Camino College Gym Complex.
Vikings forward Peter Oguama dominated control of the paint and made a game-high of 19 rebounds, helping Barstow close out a tight overtime finish.
“We couldn’t really find rhythm, but in the second half, we gained composure and we were able to just cool down as a team and run our sets and play great defense,” said Oguama.
Barstow’s composure and rebounding closed out the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime.
“The thing we need to improve on is rebounding and not allowing somebody to have 19 offensive rebounds,” said Warriors guard Vaitai Tuione.
The Warriors had opened with a fast first quarter that immediately set the tone for a back-and-forth battle with the Vikings.
The Warriors pushed the tempo in transition and knocked down early shots, while the Vikings relied on their physicality and second-chance points to stay within reach.
“We’re gonna try to generate our pace… They’ve done a really good job this year of eliminating turnovers so far,” Warriors coach Robert Uphoff said before the game. “I feel like when we come out and we execute defensively, we take advantage of the opportunity on the offense and are able to dominate the paint, we’ve had success.”
Neither team managed to create real separation as the quarter closed with both sides trading momentum swings and defensive stops.
The tight, high energy rhythm carried into the second half, where ECC began to create breathing room behind strong scoring stretches from guards Linken Tate, Rocco Gaffoglio, Landon Starnes and Cricri.
A 10-0 run sparked by Tate’s steal and score sequence, extending their lead to 47-31.
The Vikings responded behind guard Trestyne Nguru and Oguama, slowly cupping away at the deficit.
Offensive rebounding kept them alive, as repealed second and third chance opportunities through Oguama and Asher Smith helped them stay within reach.
The Warriors countered with timely buckets.
Starnes hit a mid-range jumper and converted the and-one, Cricri scored back to back finishes in the lane, and Johnson caught fire late in the half, hitting multiple threes to push the Warriors ahead 80-72 with four minutes remaining.
Barstow refused to go down.
“I think they got a couple of scores that are really dynamic, so we got our hands full on the defensive end,” Vikings coach Nicholas Hilton said before the game.
Nguru and Smith each hit key shots, and Oguama dominated inside, scoring Barstow’s final four points of regulation.
With seven seconds on the clock, Oguama powered in a layup to tie the game at 85-85.
The Warriors had two chances at the rim on the final possession, but both tip-in attempts rolled off as the buzzer sounded, sending the game into overtime.
Overtime opened slowly until Tuione knocked down a jumper to give ECC an 87-85 lead.
The momentum flipped when forward Asher Smith drilled a three to put Barstow ahead 88-87.
Johnson answered with a pull-up jumper, only for Nguru to take the lead back for Barstow with a driving finish at the 2:37 mark.
The Warriors will look to bounce back against the Cuesta Cougars College (1-8) today at 1 p.m. in the ECC Gym Complex.
