The Bakersfield College men’s basketball team finished in second place at the Renegade Classic.
The Renegades were defeated by the No. 2 team in the state, Fresno City College, 80-72 on Nov. 30.
The Renegades trailed 44-36 at halftime but didn’t get much closer than that as Fresno started to pull away. The Rams’ biggest lead of the night was 73-63 with 5:19 remaining.
“They (Fresno) got their first run, and we just could never crack them. It was a highly contested game. It was very competitive,” BC head coach Rich Hughes said. “We had chances to make plays, and we didn’t do it.”
Fresno head coach Ed Madec felt that the game was a battle between the two teams.
“It was a real hard-fought game for both teams. We were fortunate to come out on top. We’re happy to come out of here with a ‘W,’ ” Madec said.
In the loss to Fresno, Ricky Wofford had 18 points, and Jamar Harrison and Nick Young both added 13 points.
For Fresno, Sultan Toles-Bey, who was named tournament MVP, scored 16 points.
In other Thanksgiving Classic action, freshman Skyler Vaden scored 30 points as the Renegades defeated Allan Hancock 89-77.
“It’s been coming. He’s had two straight really good games. He’s getting that confidence now. When that confidence is flowing, he just knows that he can play,” said Hughes of Vaden’s performance.
Hughes said that the key to beating Hancock was the fact that the Renegades hit their free throw attempts in the second half.
“We executed down the stretch. It was good for us. It teaches us how to win games that are close,” Hughes said.
Also in the victory over Hancock, Harrison added 16 points, and Jerome Grayson added nine points.
On Nov. 28, Harrison led the Renegades with 16 points as the Renegades defeated Porterville College 88-70 in their opening game of the Renegade Classic.
The Renegades’ biggest lead was 15-2 with 15:52 left in the first half.
“We started off strong which is good for us because sometimes we tend to get off to slow starts. It was one of those games where they (Porterville) couldn’t quite crack us,” said Hughes.
Hughes says that the Renegade Classic was a success because the Renegades made it to the championship game and because they gained experience against good teams.
The Renegades also participated in the Fresno City tournament on Nov. 21-23.
Ricky Copeland scored 26 points and hit six 3-pointers as the Renegades beat Los Angles Trade Tech 102-89 in the tournament’s opening game.
Also in the victory, Scott Draughon scored 18 points, and Harrison added 11 points.
Despite getting 28 points from Harrison and 20 points from Darrin Dorsey, the Renegades fell to Fresno 100-89 Nov. 22. For Fresno, Russell Gregory had 25 points, and Aaron Hill had 18 points.
In the final game of the Fresno tournament, the Renegades were defeated by Los Angles City College 112-104.
In the loss to LA City, Wofford scored 21 points while Dorsey added 19 points in a losing effort.
“Our biggest problem was turnovers. We gave up over 300 points, so defensively we weren’t very good,” said Hughes about the Fresno City Tournament.
Not counting their Dec. 2 game against Barstow, the Renegades have a record of 7-3 overall.
The Renegades next game will be at Porterville on Dec 9.
The Renegades will then head to the San Diego Mesa Tournament Dec. 12-13 and the COS Tournament Dec. 19-21.
The Renegades next home game will be Jan. 10 against College of the Canyons at 5 p.m.

Women’s basketball

The Bakersfield College women’s basketball team has started the season with a record of 3-7.
Freshman Ashlee Taira scored 24 points, and Julie Thomas scored 15 point, but the Renegades still lost to Porterville College 72-61 Nov. 25.
On Nov 22, the Renegades took a 36-32 lead at halftime, but key mistakes in the second half led to a 77-66 defeat against College Of Sequoias.
In the loss to COS Taira scored a season high 32 points while Kristin Alvidrez had 13 points. Nikki Lopez poured in 10 points. Lopez also hit a 3-pointer to end the first half.
Lopez scored 18 points and had eight rebounds as the Renegades lost their home opener 82-57 to Rio Hondo Nov. 21.
The Renegades trailed at 30-20 at halftime but again couldn’t come back from that deficit.
Also in the loss to Rio Hondo, Thomas scored 14 points while Taira had 11 points.
The Renegades next game will be Dec. 13 at home against Santa Ana at 5:30 p.m.
The Renegades will participate in the Antelope Valley Tournament Dec. 18-20.
The Renegades will also participate in the Grossmont Tournament Dec. 27-29.
After the two tournaments, the Renegades will be at home against Pasadena Jan. 3 at 6 p.m.