The Bakersfield College men’s basketball team went 3-1 over the last two weeks; the only loss was a pounding from a conference opponent.
The Renegades were dominated for most of the game as they were defeated by L.A. Valley 95-76 Feb. 11.
BC shot 37 percent (27-73) from the field while L.A. Valley shot 54 percent (35-65).
The Renegades were down 47-37 at halftime, but the closest they got in the second half was down 53-40.
“It was good for us. We needed someone to come in and drill us. We need to wake ourselves up,” BC coach Rich Hughes said.
“We’ve had terrible practices for the last two weeks. When you practice poorly, it translates to the game.”
Hughes was embarrassed about the way his team played in front of the home crowd.
“It’s embarrassing to lose on your home floor. I’m embarrassed as far as how our team played,” he said.
In the loss against L.A. Valley, Skyler Vaden led the Renegades with 21 points.
The Renegades bounced back from the loss to L.A. Valley by beating Santa Monica 78-70 Feb. 14.
“We got down in the first half. We struggled a little bit, kind of like we did against L.A. Valley,” Hughes said.
“We went out in the second half and played a little bit better defense and got hot on the offensive end. We were able to pull away with a victory.”
Against Santa Monica, Vaden had 22 points, while Jamar Harrison had 17 points. Eion Lewis added 13 points in the win.
Harrison scored 14 points as the Renegades defeated the West L.A. Wildcats 92-88 on Feb. 7.
The Renegades took a lead of 54-36 into halftime and had to fend off a second half run by West L.A. to win the game.
“Every home game in league we’ve built a huge lead in the first, which carries us,” Hughes said.
“West L.A. was able to fight. That lead put that little cushion that we were able to withstand it. We’ll take it.”
Hughes was frustrated with the way his team’s defense performed in the second half against the Wildcats.
“Our defense was terrible in the second half. We gave up way too many easy lay-ups,” said Hughes.
“If we’re going to want to win in the playoffs or win a conference title, we’re going to have to stop doing that. We gave them too many easy attempts in the second half.”
Also against the Wildcats, Scott Draughon had 13 points before leaving the game with a groin injury, while Lewis and Luiz Gomez added 11 a piece.
E.J Kirby scored 22 points, and BC forced 25 turnovers as the Renegades defeated College of the Canyons Feb. 4.
“We were able to put together two good offensive halves. We passed the ball well. We had a large number of assists. All in all, it was a good game for us especially on the road to gain some confidence,” Hughes said.
Also against Canyons, Harrison had 18 points while Ricky Wofford and Vaden poured in 15 points a piece.
For Canyons, Brannon Bradley had 19 points and 6 rebounds while Justin Smith poured in 17 points and 6 rebounds in a losing effort.
Not including their Feb. 18 game against Glendale, the Renegades are 22-8 overall and 7-3 in the Western State Conference.The Renegades’ final home game of the regular season will be Feb. 21 against Citrus at 5 p.m.