Hawks shake lineup after two losses

By Ramon Scott
Updated: November 7, 2021

2021-22 SAN DIEGO CHRISTIAN HAWKS MEN’S BASKETBALL

ECS staff report

SANTEE —- Only one week into the men’s basketball season and San Diego Christian College may already need to make alterations to its starting lineup.

Competing in a pair of contests at the University of Antelope Valley, the Hawks received a pair of strong performances from players off the bench yet dropped a pair of games at Pioneer Event Center in Lancaster.

SDCC (0-2) dropped its opener to the host UAV Pioneers, 72-57 on Thursday (Oct. 25). The next night, the Hawks fell to University of Redlands, 88-77, at Currier Gym on Friday (Oct. 26).

Against Antelope Valley, the Pioneers won for the fifth straight time in the all-time series by quickly jumping to a 15-point halftime cushion.

Kavonte Kinney led the Hawks with 14 points, while both Jermaine Camacho-Small and Cameron Dashiell added 10. Camacho-Small also posted 13 rebounds.

However, Tristan Angelo kept the visitors close in the second having, scoring seven points in his 11 minutes from off the bench before UVA (5-2 overall) pulled away by controlling the middle, holding a 51-34 rebound advantage, and blocking four shots.

Against Redlands, the Hawks bench again was the highlight. Angelo was joined by Kinney in a second-half rally. Angelo registered 11 boards while Kinney added six assists.

Down by as many as eight points, a Camacho-Small layin gave SDCC a 66-65 lead with six minutes remaining. However, the Bulldogs (1-1) answered with a 23-11 closing run to win.

San Diego Christian also played an exhibition game at CSU Bakersfield on Saturday (Nov. 6). For the host Roadrunners, it was a prelude to their official season opener at UCLA on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Hawks’ next contest is Thursday at 7:30 p.m., traveling to North County to meet host University of Saint Katherine in San Marcos.