Freshman Justin Elliott scored a game-high 21 points but it wasn't enough as Rio Hondo College couldn't finish off a furious late-game comeback and lost 54-53 to visiting Victor Valley College on Saturday in Whittier.

Rio Hondo trailed Victor Valley 52-42 after a layup by Xavier Roy with 3:35 to go in the second half. But from that point, the Roadrunners finally came alive. Elliott scored six points as part of an 11-0 run by Rio Hondo. Freshman Carlos Legaspy hit a clutch three-pointer with 27 seconds left to cap the run and give the Roadrunners a 53-52 advantage.

Unfortunately, that lead didn't last long. On the Rams' ensuing trip down the court, Roy was fouled with seven seconds to play. He sank both his free throws and sophomore  Juaquin Zavala's 3-pointer at the buzzer was no good allowing Victor Valley (7-15, 1-3 FC) to escape with its first Foothill Conference win of the season.

Sophomore Leo Maidana added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Roadrunners while Legaspy added nine points off the bench.

Rio Hondo (8-15, 1-3 FC) returns to action on Wednesday (Jan. 27) at 7 p.m. when the Roadrunners travel to San Bernardino Valley College for a conference game.