Men's Cagers Still A Work in Progress At Skip Robinson Classic

The Pasadena City College men's basketball team is still searching for its first victory after two more losses at the Lancers-hosted Skip Robinson Classic played Nov. 18-20 at Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium. PCC is 0-7 on the season, but did get to play in front of the home fans for the first time since February of 2020.

The Lancers also had to deal with lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as they ended up having to cancel a game on the final day of the intended 8-team, 12-game tournament as Pierce College had to pull out after the first round due to a positive COVID test for a player. As host, PCC decided to pull out of the tournament as well after its second round game on Friday since the remaining six teams gave the tourney three matchups for fifth place, third place and the championship finals.

Mt. San Antonio won the tourney, defeating Barstow, 75-63, on Saturday. Taking third place was another fellow South Coast Conference foe in LA Southwest, an 80-74 winner over Antelope Valley. The consolation title went to Glendale, 62-57 over LA Valley. 

PCC opened the tourney with an 88-80, home-opening loss against Barstow. The Lancers played well against the Vikings, trailing just 44-40 by halftime. But every time PCC tried to keep up with Barstow the opponent responded to maintain its lead throughout the second half. 

Devan Ford came off the bench to score a team-high 20 points with six rebounds, six assists and three steals, but the most impactful player was starting guard Brandon Torimaru, who was 5-for-10 from 3-point land for 15 points as well adding seven assists, four rebounds and three steals. Torimaru's long-range shooting got the crowd going in the first half. Starting forward Joevontay Clayton contributed 11 points and six rebounds while Eric Lemongo had six points and grabbed 13 rebounds. 

Another player with a solid effort was wing Nathaniel Carter, who had seven points, four rebounds, four assists and was strong on defense by blocking four shots. Barstow's Christian Taylor led his squad with 28 points and 13 rebounds.

The encouraging performance by the Lancers did not carry over to Friday's game, a forgettable 92-42 loss to Glendale. For nearly 17 minutes, PCC was stuck on just four points as the Vaqueros led 32-4, and raced to a 42-10 halftime lead. While all 13 Glendale players who played reached the scoring column, PCC had no players in double figures, led by just seven from Ford (and four steals). The Lancers made 27 turnovers, many that led to baskets the other way for Glendale.

PCC will not be in action again until Friday, Dec. 3 when it plays at Cerritos College. Tip-off for the SCC crossover game is 6 p.m.

SKIP ROBINSON CLASSIC
2021 ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP-Shaquil Bender, Mt. San Antonio 
Jamal Edmonson, Mt. San Antonio
Christian Taylor, Barstow
Brandon Fredrick, LA Southwest
Jalen White, Glendale