Men’s Basketball Falls to Reedley in Overtime

TORRANCE, Calif. --- El Camino College led late in regulation and had a shot to win it in overtime but came up just short in a 92-90 non-conference loss to visiting Reedley on Saturday afternoon at the ECC Gym Complex.

Both teams were evenly matched as they were tied at halftime and at the end of regulation. Billy Ray Barnes III led the way for the Warriors with 31 points and 10 rebounds with five assists, his second straight 30-point double-double. Shamar Carter added 17 points and seven boards in 31 minutes off the bench while Aaron Cortes (13) and Vaitai Tuione (10) also scored in double figures.

For the Tigers, Kyriuan Davis led all scorers with 35 points and 19 rebounds while Jayden Abuyen added 17 points with Matt Ruegge adding 15 in the victory.

At the end of regulation, the Tigers held a 75-72 lead with 32 seconds left. Barnes III then drove the length of the court after a made free throw and took a jumper in the paint that missed off the back iron but Tuione cleaned up the mess to bring the Warriors within one.

The Warriors then put Cooper Schimpf on the free throw line with 15 seconds left and he proceeded to miss both, giving the Warriors a golden chance to take the lead.

They did just that as Barnes III barreled into the lane once again and this time made his jumper to put ECC up 76-75 with eight seconds left. The Tigers were out of timeouts and had to go the length of the floor to try to steal the game, and they almost did as Davis banked a 3-pointer from the right wing with 0.4 seconds left to put Reedley ahead 78-76. But the Tigers bench charged onto the court before time expired, resulting in a technical foul and Barnes III hit the two free throws to tie things up and send the game into overtime.

In the extra period, the Tigers again held the lead with inside a minute left. Down 91-86, Cortes hit a layup with 12 seconds left to bring the Warriors within three. The Tigers would hit one of two free throws with 10 seconds left. But the Warriors continued to fight as Cortes put back a missed three-point attempt to make it 92-90 with less than a second left.

The Tigers then threw away the ensuing inbound pass, giving the Warriors one final attempt to tie or win the game. The Warriors found Carter in the right corner for a game-tying jumper but it fell short and the Tigers escaped with the win.

The Warriors will return to action on Wednesday evening when they host College of the Desert at 5 p.m.