Free throws are the difference in 84-72 setback

Sophomore guard Matt Willkomm scored 16 of his game-high 24 points in the second half on Saturday night, guiding Hancock to an 84-72 win over SBCC in the Sports Pavilion.

The Bulldogs (11-13, 3-4 WSC North) made 17-of-21 free throws in the first half, leading to a 44-42 advantage at the break. Hancock was plus-13 for the game from the charity stripe, making 23-27 compared to 10-11 for the home team.

The Vaqueros took their biggest lead at 22-13 on a 3-pointer by Pedersen with 12:32 to go in the first half. The Vaquero big men got into foul trouble, however, and that opened the door for Hancock.

Tim Ford had 17 points and 17 rebounds for the Bulldogs, who won the board battle, 52-36.

Tejon Williams topped the Vaqueros (6-15, 1-6) with 17 points and five rebounds. Evan Tillman had 16 points and seven boards while Robert Hutchins collected 12 points and six rebounds. Martin Pedersen added 12 points on 3-6 shooting from 3-point range.

Neither team shot well from long range with Hancock making 5-21 and the Vaqueros hitting just 18.8 percent (6-32).

"We got into early foul trouble and they made 17 free throws in the first half," said coach Morris Hodges. "Evan and Martin got two quick ones and they were out for long periods. They hurt us on the boards with 10 offensive in the first half.

"We were having trouble defending the dribble penetration. When you combine that with shooting 18 percent on 3's, it's tough. Despite those poor areas, it was still a 12-point game. We started shooting the ball a little too quick in the second half."

The Bulldogs went on an 11-3 second-half run and expanded the lead to 11 points (69-58) on a fast-break layup by Willkomm with 7:28 to play.

SBCC is off on Wednesday, then travels to first-place Cuesta on Saturday for a 7 p.m. game.