Long Beach City College guard Kunique Yandall Parker’s 16-point, 13-rebound double-double off the bench helped LBCC get the 83-79 victory over College of the Canyons in LBCC’s first home game of the year on Tuesday.
“I’m glad I went out there and did what I needed to do and help my team out. The first half, we were slow on defense, so when we came back, we made sure to give them pressure,” Parker stated after the game.
Aside from defense, LBCC was also shaky on offense in the first half, only converting on nearly 41% of their shot attempts.
LBCC’s offensive struggles plus multiple defensive lapses gave them an eight-point deficit heading into halftime.
Once LBCC came out of the locker room in the second half, the players stepped up as the team converted on 57% of their shot attempts and 60% from three-point range.
The scoring attack was led by Parker’s 13 second-half points and teammate guard Brandon Cerda’s nine points.
Cerda had better shot selection after going 3-10 on shot attempts in the first half, going 4-9. Cerda also shared the wealth as he had half of his team’s 10 second-half assists.
The one player for the Cougars that LBCC had to work on containing to complete the comeback victory was forward Jonah El-Farrah, as he was already flirting with a double-double in the first half.
El Farrah was a rebounding machine for College of the Canyons, as his double-double consisted of 15 points and 17 rebounds, both being the most on his team.
With El-Farrah’s rebounding, LBCC improved its glass crashing in the second half, as the team had 24 second-half rebounds compared to its 19 in the first.
“We gotta play better defense and rebound to win, I don’t know why our guys think offensively,” LBCC head coach Barry Barnes stated after the game. “By December 2, we want to be 4-2, playing in the championship game at West LA.”
Barnes’s goal for his team was unfortunately unsuccessful, winning two out of the three games he planned on winning at the West LA Wild West Shootout.
LBCC will take its 4-4 record to Santa Barbara as the Vikings participate in the Santa Barbara Classic, with their first game being against Oxnard College as their first opponent of the 3-game road trip starting Thursday.