Point guard Lawrence Brown had 32 points, two rebounds and two steals in a 85-69 loss to Riverside City College on Friday.
The first half of the game was competitive with both teams scoring, however Riverside was shooting the ball more efficiently hitting their three point shots.
The Vikings were able to draw fouls and score while driving to the basket, but when it came to shooting outside the perimeter of the court they struggled.
The Vikings hit 25% of their three-pointers while Riverside was at 44%.
Redbounds were also a problem for the Vikings, they weren’t able to execute offensive and defensive rebounds, Riverside out rebounded them 53-39.
At the half, the Vikings were trailing Riverside 33-24.
Vikings point guard Lawrence Brown talked about how his coaches told him to have more intensity and energy and the importance of relying on each other, continuing to help each other develop since they are a young team.
LBCC Viking Kamron Fontenot, wing, attempts a free throw with 5:10 minutes remaining in the first quarter at Riverside City College in the Wheelock Gymnasium. The Vikings lost to Riverside 85-69 on Friday. (Alex Pina)
“I was in a slump the past three games so just doing my best to get out of it. My team needs me to do everything on every end. The assistant coach, coach Shawn and coach Barry talked to me and said I gotta pick up my intensity and energy. I just tried to do that all throughout the week in practice, paid off for me in this game so gotta keep it up going forward. It’s extremely important with the chemistry and everything, a lot of new players coming in out of high school , its very important to build, the team been doing a great job, everyone listens really well. Everyone has great chemistry and comradery so it’s great all the young guys they listen and are receptive,” Brown said.
Wing Kamron Fontenot, who also had an impactful night scoring 10 points, eight rebounds and three steals to be the second leading scorer for the Vikings.
“I think that I started the game out well, but took myself out of the game by allowing the defense to take three charges on me while trying to score. I started to play more passively. Knowing that we have things like film and practice to fix things that we did poorly is always a motivation after any loss. It’s early in the season and I would rather go through these tough losses then later,” Fontenot said.
In the second half the Vikings couldn’t contain Riverside, at one point the Vikings were down 77-62 but Riverside continued to extend their lead making multiple three pointers.
Brown started to take off in the second half by attacking the basket and passing by defenders but his jump shots were falling.
The comeback wasn’t successful as Riverside dribbled out the remaining seconds of the clock and the Vikings fell to Riverside 85-69 dropping them to 1-3 on the season.
Vikings point guard Lawrence Brown attempts a bounce pass while being guarded by Riverside guard Christian Warren at Riverside City College in Wheelock Gymnasium. The Vikings fell to Riverside 85-69 on Friday.(Alex Pina)
“We didn’t shoot the ball well, we didn’t really come to play, this was a perfect game for us to do something and win, and we laid an egg honestly. This is one of the most disappointing losses,” Barnes said.
The Vikings will be looking to bounce back as will be playing at home against College of Canyons on Today at 5 p.m.
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