Men’s Basketball Continues Conference Play With Loss to Long Beach City

TORRANCE, Calif. - The Warriors took a trip to Long Beach City on Friday night but came away with their second loss of conference play (109-98). Though the Warriors took an early lead and outscored the Vikings in the second half, the home team outshone the Warriors with their offensive efforts to take the victory.

The night began with constant turnover from both teams but the Warriors managed to take the lead with free throws from freshman guard Jamal Heckard and a steal from Heckard which resulted in a layup by freshman forward Che Madrid. Sophomore forward/center Gavin Reagan then gave the Warriors a nine point lead when he was quick to get the rebound from Brandon Harris' missed shot. But the lead was short lived as the Viking came back hard, ending the first half 42-57.

The Warriors struggled to earn buckets as the game drew close to the end and Powns' last minute efforts were not enough to give them the lead. He made six points in the last two minutes of the game and his final bucket was just 30 seconds before the end of the match. But the Vikings had a steady lead and sealed the match with free throws by William English to end the game 11 points ahead.

Powns and Heckard both scored 21 points for the Warriors while sophomore forward Munachiso Nwodili made 15, giving him 58 overall on the season. Nwodili now sits first in the conference in field goal percentage (65.2). Heckard sits at fourth in conference with points per game with an average of 17.3.

The loss puts the Warriors at 0-2 in conference and 9-10 on the season while the Vikings move to 2-0 in conference and 6-12 overall. Before returning home Friday, January 27th, the Warriors head to EC-Compton Center on Wednesday.