Men’s Basketball: Rio Hondo wins thriller over Barstow for first win

The Rio Hondo College men's basketball team opened the season at the San Diego Miramar College Don Gehler Memorial Tournament over the weekend and picked up its first win, beating Barstow Community College 79-77 on Saturday.

The Roadrunners fell 103-91 in the tournament/season-opener on Friday to host Miramar and suffered a 96-86 loss to LA Pierce College on Sunday.

Rio Hondo had to rally late to pull off the come-from-behind win over Barstow. The Roadrunners built a 21-8 lead to start the contest and was up 44-40 at halftime. But in the second, Barstow slowly chipped away at the Rio Hondo lead and jumped ahead 72-62 with 5:30 to play in the contest.

But a 12-2 run by the Roadrunners put them back out in front as Bryant Howing's layup gave Rio Hondo a 76-74 lead with 1:19 to go. Barstow responded with a bucket by Jack McDonald. He was fouled and converted the free throw to give Barstow back the lead 77-76 with 51 seconds left.

The Vikings had a chance to ice the game but Chris Taylor missed a pair of free throws with 21 seconds remaining, giving Rio Hondo one last chance. Kameron Hobbs drove the floor and missed a layup, but Tawrence Shoffner was there for the offensive rebound and was successful on the put-back for the eventual game-winning basket with one second left on the clock.

Aaron Patterson led Rio Hondo with 16 points and 9 rebounds in the win while four other Roadrunners scored in double figures. Howing had 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 steals while John Mims came off the bench to chip in with 14 points and 4 assists.

Shoffner closed the game with 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists while Mims added 10 points and 5 boards.

The season got off to a rough start for the Roadrunners on Friday with the loss to host Miramar. Rio Hondo trailed 53-44 at halftime and couldn't get much going in the second.

Shoffner scored a team-high 21 points while Patterson had 19 points in the loss.

Howing went off for the Roadrunners in Sunday's loss, scoring a season-high 28 points. Shoffner posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists while Patterson nearly had one of his own with 14 points and 9 rebounds.

Rio Hondo, now 1-2 overall, returns to action on Friday (Nov. 8) when the Roadrunners travel to Mt. San Jacinto College for a 7 p.m. non-conference game.