Big Second Half Lifts Men’s Basketball to First Win in Home Opener

TORRANCE, Calif. – El Camino College overcame a halftime deficit with a big second half to score a 79-70 victory over visiting Bakersfield Wednesday night at the ECC North Gym.

Sophomore Justin Chambers had a huge game (1-1), leading all scorers with 26 points on 7-for-10 shooting. He hit 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and hit 10 of his 15 free throws. Chambers was a huge part of the team's second-half comeback over the Renegades (0-1), scoring 19 points in the final period, missing only one of his seven shot attempts.

The Warriors trailed 39-33 at the break after letting a 15-point lead slip away in the opening period. A big factor was turnovers as the Warriors had 14 giveaways in the first half. The team turned it around in the second half, committing just five turnovers while forcing 10 turnovers from the Renegades.

Two minutes into the second, the Warriors found themselves trailing by 10 points. They would chip away and stay within striking distance until Chambers finally pulled the Warriors even with 3:31 left on a driving layup to knot the game at 65-65.

Justin Reyes then drilled a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 68-65 lead with 2:51 left, ECC's first lead since 30-29 with 2:39 left in the first half.

Chambers would drill two free throws to cap a 9-0 scoring run and put ECC up 70-65 with 1:39 left.

The Renegades would get a 3-pointer from Anieus Medrano to pull within two but Chambers did not miss a beat, drilling a three from the top of the arc to answer and give ECC back its five-point. It would ignite an 8-0 run to put the Warriors up 10 with 18 seconds left and secure the victory.

The Warriors will return to action Friday night as they host Pasadena for a 6 p.m. tipoff.