The Bakersfield College men’s basketball team lost its third consecutive game Feb. 9, after falling to College of the Canyons 69-68.

The team found itself trailing 35-29 at the half and overcame a 13-point deficit mid-way through the second half and took a 63-61 lead with 1:43 left in the game.

“We had a chance to quit and they didn’t quit,” BC head coach Rich Hughes said on his team’s play down the stretch to climb back into the game. “They jut kept fighting and Canyons is first place in the league for a reason.  We battled back into the game but we didn’t make enough plays to win.”

BC played Canyons back on Jan. 16, at Canyons and was defeated by the cougars 84-81.

BC had three players to reach double figures in scoring, led by forward Conroy Lester who registered 17 points for the Renegades.  Guard Ed Daniels caught fire late in the game, going 3-for-4 on three pointers, finishing with 15 points.  Guard Duncan Schramm finished with 14 points, hitting six free throws out of six attempts.

“We’ve got to keep competing,” Hughes said. “We’ve played well against Canyons both games, came out you know, not winning the games.

“We’re capable of playing with those teams, it’s just a matter of executing down the stretch, which we didn’t do against them to win the games.”

Canyons guard Jaylrn Bland was huge for the Cougars, with 15 points, and got a lift from forward Tyler Barber who led the team second in scoring on the night with 13 points going 3-for-4 at the three point line.

The loss dropped BC to 3-5 in the Western State Conference after a promising 2-0 start. The lost also dropped the Renegades to 0-2 on a three game home stand.

BC lost to Glendale College 77-67 back on Feb. 6 in overtime. BC controlled the game throughout the first half of regulation but couldn’t close out the game to prevent losing its second straight.

BC will play host to LA Valley College Feb. 16 in its final home game of the season. The Renegades beat the Monarchs 66-59 back on Jan. 26 at LA Valley.