Joe Hampton With his 4-year university future all set after his signing this month at Long Beach State University, Pasadena City College redshirt freshman forward Joe Hampton went about the business of producing for the Lancers men’s basketball team. On Tuesday evening at Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium, Hampton scored 30 points as PCC got past local rival […]
Joe Hampton
With his 4-year university future all set after his signing this month at Long Beach State University, Pasadena City College redshirt freshman forward Joe Hampton went about the business of producing for the Lancers men’s basketball team. On Tuesday evening at Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium, Hampton scored 30 points as PCC got past local rival Glendale, 82-73, in a non-conference game.
The 6-foot-8 Hampton, from Maryland, made 10-for-16 from the field and was a strong 8-for-10 from the free throw line. He added five rebounds and four assists as he played 37 minutes. His performance allowed the Lancers to win their third straight to improve to 4-3. Glendale (2-3) was led by Jordan Matthews with 18 points.
The Vaqueros put together two spurts, a 10-0 run to take an early 10-5 lead and then a 12-0 rally on four straight 3-point bombs to lead 27-18. PCC mounted a comeback and went ahead, 33-27, on a pair of 3s by reserve letterman guard Will Johnson. A steal and dunk by Matthews gave Glendale a 34-33 halftime lead.
In the second half, the teams kept it close before Johnson hit back-to-back treys and gave the Lancers a 63-57 lead with less than seven minutes left. Strong defense in the post by Hampton and reserve forward Ivan Egbunike (six points, four rebounds, two blocks) forced Glendale into a series of misses. In the final five minutes, perfect free throw shooting from Johnson (6-for-6) and Hampton (4-for-4) helped put the contest away.
Overall, PCC shot 79.3 percent from the line (23 of 29 attempts). From the field, the Lancers hit 42.4 percent, but shot 52 percent in the second half (14-for-27).
Johnson had his best game of the season as he finished with 20 points, including a sizzling 4-for-4 on 3s (5-for-6 overall). He added seven rebounds and led the team with five assists. PCC again received ample production from its bench (38 points), including six on two 3-pointers by Todd Kitagawa and four by Malik Black. Starting guard Jordan Jones dropped in 11 points wih six rebounds.
The 3-game win streak is remarkably the best by a PCC team since December, 2014 when it won four in a row.
Coach Michael Swanegan’s Lancers return to action on Thursday, Dec. 7 when they play Compton to open the annual Riverside Holiday Classic.
