Men: LBCC 77, LA Trade Tech 70

by Chris Ruiz, LBCC

Freshman forward Jared Garber scored a game-high 20 points to help lead the Long Beach City College men’s basketball team to a 77-70 South Coast Conference interdivision win over visiting Los Angeles Trade Tech College on Wednesday night at the LBCC Hall of Champions Gym.

The win was the Vikings’ third straight and improved their record to 8-7 overall. It also avenged an 82-78 loss to the Beavers last month at the Saddleback College tournament.

Long Beach led from the start of the contest and was up by as many as 19 points in the second half and had to hold off a late Trade Tech surge to earn the victory.

The Vikings were impressive in the first half, holding Trade Tech to just 8 of 26 shooting over the opening 20 minutes of the game. Garber scored 15 of his 20 points in the first half while LBCC shot 18 of 41 from the floor.

Long Beach held a commanding 42-27 lead at halftime before the Beavers turned up the offense in the second.

Trade Tech got as close as five points (60-55) at the 6:37 mark and was within six points (76-70) with just 36 seconds to play before the Vikings were able to close out the win.

Freshman guard Raynard Tyler posted 18 points, five rebounds, and four assists for the Vikings. Sophomore center Kyle Clark had a big game in just 24 minutes of play. He totaled 12 points, five rebounds, and four blocks before fouling out midway through the second half.

Trade Tech (11-6) was led Martin Whitmore’s 19 points. Timothy Johnson came off the bench to post 12 points and five rebounds.

Long Beach returns to action on Friday when it travels to El Camino College for a 7 p.m. South Coast Conference South Division game.

Women: LA Trade Tech 68, LBCC 42

The Long Beach City College women's basketball team suffered a 68-42 South Coast Conference loss to visiting Los Angeles Trade Tech College on Wednesday night at the LBCC Hall of Champions Gym.

The loss was the Vikings' third straight and dropped their record to 4-12 overall and 0-7 in conference play.

Trade Tech (10-6, 5-1 SCC) opened up the contest with an 11-2 lead at the 11:57 mark. LBCC slowly chipped away. Eight straight points by sophomore guard Jocelyn Arce, including a pair of three-pointers, got Long Beach within one at 11-10. A free throw by sophomore forward Alanna Yim tied the game and a layup from freshman center Michelle Chagolla gave LBCC its first lead at 13-11 with 6:47 to go in the first.

Long Beach extended its advantage to 24-17 at halftime before Trade Tech came out firing in the second. The Beavers outscored Long Beach 12-4 out of the break to take a 29-28 lead that they wouldn’t give up.

Turnovers and rebounds once again hurt the Vikings. Trade Tech converted 36 LBCC turnovers into 32 points, while the Beavers beat Long Beach on the board by a 44-37 margin.

Arce led Long Beach with 15 points and added three assists. Yim scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Chagolla and freshman forward Tatianna Jefferys both chipped in with eight points.

Trade Tech was led by Jamisha Collins’ 18 points and Aja Miller added 17 points.

Long Beach returns to action on Friday when it travels to face El Camino College in a 5 p.m. South Coast Conference game.