Men’s Basketball Comes Up Short At EC-Compton Center 83-97

COMPTON, Calif. - The El Camino College Warriors faced a tough opponent on Wednesday night as they traveled to EC-Compton Center and lost to the host team 83-97. This leaves them 9-11 on the season and 0-3 in conference. Jamal Heckard and Keywhon Powns both had strong performances, leading the Warriors in points.

Both teams had a slow start, struggling to make buckets but the Tartars were first to take the lead. Five minutes in, sophomore Powns tied the game at nine and the Warriors continued to advance with the help of the forward and a three by Martyre Demarco. But the Tartars were not easily discouraged and took back the lead, ending only six points ahead.

The Warriors lost focus in the second half and the Tartars denied them any opportunity of a comeback. Though the Warriors were unable to pass the Tartars, they ended the last half only eight points behind. Sophomore guard Demarco put in a three and a layup for the Warriors before Tartar Nicholas Clark tipped in the ball right as the buzzer went off.

Coach Robert Uphoff shared his thoughts on the team's performance, "Despite the score, I was actually pretty pleased with tonight's game." He continued, "The past two games we haven't played together, smart nor have we given a great effort. I felt that during tonight's contest, we had more guys committed to the game plan and had better 'buy-in' than we've had in quite some time."

Compton stands 5th in state overall and are second in scoring points per game. They proved to be a challenging opponent with their offensive rebounds, forced turnovers and steals.

"Our guys really battled on the boards grabbing 21 offensive rebounds." Coach Uphoff explained, "We did have some breakdowns that really hurt us at key stretches in the game, but the effort, focus and execution was far better than it's been in a long time."

Heckard and Powns both had a solid games. Heckard totaled 26 points on the night and was only a point away in field goals in earning a double-double. He also logged eight threes. Sophomore Powns made a total 19 points and was a rebound (9) shy of earning a double as well.