L.A. Valley tops Vaqueros 77-69

L.A. Valley downed SBCC 77-69 on Friday night at the Santa Monica Crossover Tournament.

The Monarchs (5-9) beat the Vaqueros for the second time in three weeks. Valley shot 47 percent in the first half while building a 38-29 lead. Kevin Cabrera hit 10-of-12 field goals and 3-3 from 3-point range to lead the Monarchs with 24 points and 10 rebounds. DeJwan Walker had 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Tyler Crandall came off the bench to top the Vaqueros (2-13) with his second straight season-high scoring effort. The 6-1 freshman from Sacramento tallied 16 points on 6-7 shooting, including 2-3 from long range. Point guard Drayten Howell tied his season best with 15 points and Ben Clay recorded his third double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Robert Hutchins added nine points and nine rebounds for the Vaqueros, who fell behind by 18 points (55-37) in the second half.

SBCC cut the deficit to 10 with 1:24 to play, then drained four straight 3-pointers by Hutchins, Howell, Crandall and Clay while Valley was making five free throws at the other end. The Vaqueros pulled within three points and stole the ball at the 30-second mark but a turnover foiled their comeback.

Santa Barbara shot 48.4 percent in the second half, matching Valley's 15-for-31 performance. The Vaqueros were a sizzling 63.6 percent from downtown, knocking down 7-11 in the last 20 minutes.

The Monarchs narrowly outshot the Vaqueros 47.6 to 46.6 percent for the game and won the board battle 40-29.

The Vaqueros will complete their nonconference schedule on Saturday with a 3 p.m. tip-off vs. Barstow (6-9) on the final day of the Santa Monica Crossover. The Vikings, who joined the new WSC East Division this year, edged Santa Monica 85-84 on Friday.