Men’s Basketball: Tough season for Roadrunners continues at AVC Tournament

Despite some impressive individual efforts over the weekend, the Rio Hondo College men's basketball team wasn't able to earn a victory and suffered three close losses at the Gregg Anderson Memorial Basketball Tournament at Antelope Valley College.

The Roadrunners opened the three-day event in Lancaster with a 67-58 loss to MiraCosta College on Friday, fell 76-69 to LA Pierce College on Saturday, and closed the weekend with a hard-fought 68-62 loss to Glendale Community College on Sunday.

Rio Hondo fell behind 8-2 early and trailed 37-17 at halftime against MiraCosta. But the Roadrunners turned it around in the second, outscoring the Spartans 41-30 over the final 20 minutes but the deficit was too much to overcome.

Sebastian Lara had 18 points and 6 rebounds to lead the Roadrunners. Chris Herrera chipped in with 12 points and Shymar Wiggings totaled 7 points and 15 rebounds.

Rio Hondo and LA Pierce battled during the first half with the Brahmas taking a narrow one-point lead (36-35) into halftime after a buzzer-beating basket by Pierce.

The Roadrunners went back out in front 47-46 at the 13:07 mark after a layup by George Ashley. But Pierce responded with an 11-2 run to take a 57-49 lead with 9:48 to go.

Rio Hondo made one last push, getting within two points at 63-61 with 4:54 left after a free throw by Alwyn Saddler IV. Pierce answered with a 9-0 run to put the game out of reach.

Lara once again Rio Hondo in scoring with 20 points to go along with 7 rebounds. Ashley totaled 14 points and 5 assists while Andre Batiste nearly had a double-double with 9 points and 9 rebounds.

The Roadrunners played another close game on Sunday before ultimately falling to Glendale. Trailing 37-34 at halftime, Rio Hondo quickly went out in front thanks to a three-pointer and another basket by Lara to open the second period.

The two squads exchanged leads over the remainder of the game. Rio Hondo held a slim 60-59 advantage before a three-pointer by Glendale with 2:41 left gave the Vaqueros the lead. Herrera's layup with 1:18 to play tied the contest up one final time but Glendale scored the game's final six points to edge out Rio Hondo.

Herrera scored a season-high 21 points thanks to 5 three-pointers. He added 5 rebounds and 3 assists to his big game.

Lara had 14 points and 5 boards while Wiggins grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds to go with 6 points.

Rio Hondo fell to 1-10 overall and returns to action on Wednesday (Dec. 8) when the Roadrunners host Cerro Coso College in a 6 p.m. non-conference game.