Men's Basketball: Rio Hondo opens tourney with win over Southwestern

Sophomore Angelo Sandoval and freshman DeShaun Carr both scored 17 points to help lead the Rio Hondo College men's basketball team to an 83-71 win over Southwestern College on Thursday in an opening-round game of the Don Johnson Classic at Cypress College.

Rio Hondo opened the contest with an 8-0 run and never trailed to the Jaguars. Southwestern got as close at 34-32 with a minute left in the first half but freshman Justin Ayala nailed a three-pointer and Sandoval put back his own miss as time expired to extend the Roadrunners' lead to 39-32 at the break.

In the second, Southwestern got within three points, cutting Rio Hondo's lead to 45-42 before the Roadrunners responded with a 14-6 run led by freshman Jr. Hernandez. He scored 10 of his 16 points during the stretch to put Rio Hondo ahead 59-48 at the 10:32 mark.

Carr posted a double-double, adding a team-high 11 rebounds to go with his 17 points. Sandoval wasn't far behind with eight rebounds as he also scored 17.

Hernandez was a perfect 5 for 5 from the field, sparking the Roadrunners off the bench. He grabbed four boards and added two steals. Freshman Derek Ohara also scored in double digits, chipping in with 12 points.

Southwestern (2-10) got a team-high 17 points from Beni Mokili.

Rio Hondo, now 7-4 overall, returns to tournament action on Friday (Dec. 9) to face Moorpark College at 5 p.m. in the Don Johnson Classic semifinals.