The Pasadena City College men's basketball team found some offensive consistency in winning two of three games for third place at the Antelope Valley College Gregg Anderson Classic played Dec. 2-4.
The Lancers (6-5 record) sandwiched a close loss to state #18 Ventura with victories over Glendale (second time this season) and host Antelope Valley.
In Sunday's finale, PCC battled back from a 39-32 halftime deficit to upend AVC, 75-65. Down by 10 late in the first half, the Lancers put together an impressive 15-0 run as Rande Harper and Jonathan Tchengang drained back-to-back, 3-pointers, for a 44-39 PCC lead 3:36 into the second half. The Marauders cut it to 59-56 with just under six minutes remaining. At that point, Tchengang followed a slam with a 3-point bomb as PCC pulled away for good.
Tchengang, a sophomore transfer from MiraCosta College, tallied a double-double on 20 points and 10 rebounds plus four assists. He made 8-for-11 from the floor, including three treys. Harper added 18 points, six rebounds and four steals while Myles Watkins netted 15 points. Nigel Wilson added seven points and six boards before fouling out.
On Saturday, the Lancers grabbed a 38-31 halftime lead over Ventura before going into a cold spell that lasted seven minutes at the start of the second half. PCC missed five shots and committed six turnovers in the slump as the Pirates eventually took a 50-40 lead and went on to beat the Lancers, 68-60. Tchengang drilled a 3-point basket that cut it to 54-51 with seven minutes to go, but Ventura scored the next nine points to open enough distance to record the win.
Tchengang, an All-AVC Tournament selection, led PCC with 16 points, six rebounds and three steals while Harper scored 15 points. Watkins had eight points and Shant Chenorhavorian added eight points off the bench.
In Friday's opener, Wilson made 11 of 15 shots from the field for 22 points, Watkins shot 9-for-11 as part of his 19 points as PCC downed Glendale, 72-58. The Lancers shot 50 percent from the floor overal (31-for-62) while Jayden Winfrey did well at distributing the ball on 10 assists to go with his five points.
In a close first half, Watkins, who also made All-Tourney honors, nailed a jumper to give PCC a 27-26 halftime lead. Watkins made three baskets and Wilson had two, including a dunk on a 10-0 Lancers run that allowed them to take a 45-35 lead with 12 minutes remaining. The Vaqueros never threatened the rest of the contest.
"The AVC tournament was a great event for us to really test ourselves," said PCC head coach Ryan Frazer. "We got to play three good teams and continue to learn how to win and get better as a team. I was proud of the fact that we were in every game and competitive. A few adjustments and we might have been 3-0 on the weekend.
"We're still learning our roles and what we need to do every night to be a winning squad. Every game, I feel like we are getting better and cutting down mistakes from the past. If we continue to do this, I think we have a great chance fo success. So far I'm very pleased with the improvement we're making and look forward to the next three games at Santa Rosa Junior College."
On Thursday, Dec. 15, PCC plays College of the Redwoods to open up the SRJC Kris Kringle Tournament. The Lancers are the only SoCal team participating in the 8-team, bracketed tourney.