Photo by Jack Kan
Photo by Jack Kan

Comeback Effort Falls Short at Santa Ana

El Camino College almost overcame a second-half double-digit deficit but Justin Chambers' game-tying 3-point attempt came up short in a 68-65 loss at Santa Ana on Friday night.

The Warriors (3-7) trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half against the Dons (3-5) but fought back to bring the deficit down to three points with 13 seconds left.

Jason Vasquez, who led the team with 17 points, hit the last of his five 3-pointers to make it 68-65 with 13 seconds left. After a Warriors timeout, the defense came through as they forced a turnover with 10 seconds left to give the Warriors a chance to even things up.

Chambers got the look and fired a 3-pointer but missed and time expired as the Dons escaped with the victory. Chambers finished the game with four points, missing all four of his threes while Justin Reyes scored 10 points for ECC as did Jamal Howard.

Chris Bailey led the Dons with 19 points and 17 rebounds while Ramon Lopez added 16 points and Ronald Ellison poured in 15.

The Warriors will be back in action Friday night with a road contest at Citrus. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.