The Pasadena City College men's basketball team can't seem to finish games of late and despite being within a basket in the last minute in each of its last three games, the Lancers lost all of them. On Wednesday, LA Harbor rallied from 15 points down midway through the second half and handed PCC a 72-71 defeat in a South Coast Conference crossover game at Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium.
The Lancers (9-8) were tied at halftime, 25-25, then jumped ahead 51-36. The Seahawks (5-11) pushed back to take a 61-60 advantage, but the teams then traded the lead five more times. Gabriel Ajemian's layup with 3:16 to go would be Pasadena's last lead at 66-64. Harbor scored what proved to be the winning basket at 72-69 on a jumper by Terence Clayton with 1:11 left. With two seconds remaining, PCC tried for the win but despite possible contact on a layup attempt at the buzzer, there was no harm, no foul and LAHC walked away with the road win.
Sophomore center-forward Deondro Worrell had his best game as a Lancer by scoring 20 points and grabbing 17 rebounds (plus three steals and three blocks). Ajemian added 18 points, seven steals, six rebounds, and four assists. Rasheet Wilson poured in 14 points and Patric Panoosi had 13, including three treys. Matthew Garife led Harbor's comeback, scoring 17 of his team-high 19 points in the second half, including draining four baskets from 3-point range.
To open 2020 on Jan. 3, the Lancers trailed 47-29 by halftime, fell behind by as much as 23 points and cut the deficit to two before host LA Southwest managed to hold on and beat PCC, 88-82, in a SCC crossover. The Lancers went on a 13-0 run that cut it to 74-71 with 4:34 left. Michael Harris made a layup-and-one that sliced the once giant Cougars lead to two, 84-82, with 1:11 remaining. LASW made four free throws over the final seconds to ice its victory.
Ajemian led five Lancers in double figures with 26 points. Panoosi added 12 points and Wilson, Harris and Lafayette Sanders (plus seven boards) each scored 10. Point guard London Benford added eight points and made eight of the team's 21 steals. Pasadena was whistled for 30 fouls and had four players foul out despite its comeback. Darren Calhoun was 9-for-9 from the free throw line and scored 18 for LA Southwest.
On Dec. 29 at the Imperial Valley Holiday Crossover Classic, the Lancers stayed close for most of the 40 minutes, but couldn't get over the hump in losing to Copper Mountain, 64-61. Ajemian tallied 24 points and nine rebounds, and Wilson added 17 points. PCC played most of the game without its high-minutes player Benford, who had to leave the contest early on with a bloody nose and did not return.
On Dec. 28, the Lancers enjoyed an 89-54 rout over host Imperial Valley. PCC was an outstanding 21-of-24 from the line (87.5 percent), including Wilson sinking 9-for-10 as part of his 23 points. Worrell chipped in 12 points (6-for-7 from the field) and seven rebounds while Benford was strong all-around on 14 points, five rebounds, and four steals. Panoosi scored 10 points, Ajemian nine (and seven assists), Joseph Rousseau nine, and Dominick Erby eight plus five steals.
PCC visits Compton College on Friday, Jan. 10 in a SCC crossover (games do not count toward conference record) at 6 p.m.