SBCC’s men’s basketball team staged a furious late rally to edge Hancock on Saturday night, 59-58.
Kola Togunde capped the wild finish by hitting two of three free throws with 0.5 remaining. The Vaqueros (7-8, 1-1 WSC North) improved to 4-1 at home by rallying from six points down (57-51) with 2:51 to play. Mark Keeten hit back-to-back layups on fast breaks but Hancock (6-14, 0-2) took a three-point lead on a free throw with 13.3 seconds left.
Keeten converted a follow shot at 5.9 seconds, shaving the deficit to one, 58-57. SBCC fouled immediately and Mike Cutino missed both ends of the double bonus. Togunde came up with the rebound and cast off from 58 feet. Cutino was called for a foul, giving Togunde three free throws with a half-second remaining.
Togunde, who finished with 14 points, missed the first charity shot but made the next two despite three timeouts by Hancock. The Bulldogs threw a length-of-the-court pass and 6-foot-10 Wolfgang Gieler got off a shot near the left side of the backboard but it didn’t come close to the rim.
Keeten scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, Togunde had 14 and center Alberto Rangel added 11. Gieler led the Bulldogs with 19 points.
The Vaqueros host Cuesta at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Dave Loveton is SBCC‘s sports information director.