Men's Hoops' Home Scoring Low Matched In Mt. SAC Loss

Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium has been the home court for the Pasadena City College men's basketball team since opening its doors in the 1999-2000 season. On Wednesday night, the Lancers matched a dubious mark for lowest points total at the HP Gym in a 58-40 defeat against Mt. San Antonio College.

The Lancers (8-12 overall) fell to 0-3 in South Coast Conference North Division play after matching a low first set 17 years ago on Jan. 11, 2001 when they lost to Cerritos, 83-40. PCC's offense has been off target in conference play, scoring season lows in three consecutive games. The team is averaging just 47.7 points in those contests after scoring at nearly a 70 points per game clip in 17 non-conference games. The team is stuck in a 5-game losing streak overall.

Another concern for head coach Michael Swanegan is who to play in the starting five. For the fourth straight game, no one in PCC's opening five rotation has reached double figures in points. Against Mt. SAC, forward Ivan Egbunike was the closest with nine points. Kyle Mitchell came off the bench to score a team-high 10 points (and six rebounds). The Lancers converted just 13 baskets from the field (45 attempts, 29 percent) and were 12-of-21 from the free throw line (57.1 percent). 

Mt. SAC (9-11, 2-1 in the division) opened a 33-19 halftime lead when PCC played sloppy, making 12 of its 20 turnovers. The Lancers didn't hit the double digit mark on the scoreboard until 5:24 left in the half. It was more of the same in the second half as the Mounties played strong defense and extended their lead to as much as 50-26 with 10 minutes remaining in the game. Mitchell sank a 3-pointer with 2:15 that allowed the team to have a double-figures scorer and avoid a new HP Gym home scoring record low. Reserve forward Jordan Simpson totaled eight points and seven rebounds. 

PCC next visits Chaffey College on Friday, Jan. 26 in a 7 p.m. division tip-off.