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Despite a late Husky rally in the second half, the Lancer Men’s basketball team held on to win 76-67 at East Los Angeles College (8-15, 0-2) on Wednesday night.Five Lancer players scored in double figures, including forward Elliott Berry, who led the team with 16 points, along with eight rebounds and one block. Forward Tyree McCary came off the bench and helped the team with his defense, tallying a game-high 5 blocks. Shooting guard ChaRunn Jones scored all of his 15 points by shooting 5-of-11 from beyond the arc.

“We played better defensively tonight than our last game,” said PCC Head Coach Michael Swanegan. “The team did a good job overall.”

The Lancers started the game with eight unanswered points in the first minute of the first half, eventually extending the lead to 14-3 before going cold from the field. The Huskies, who outscored the Lancers inside the paint, 36-22, used their dribble penetration and low-post offense to steadily crawl back to within three (17-14) with less than 12 minutes left. Jones hit two consecutive three-point baskets to lift the lead to 23-16 and carried the Lancers out of their slump, while forwards Edwin Edukere (10 points and two blocks in 16 minutes) and McCary extended the lead to 37-24, the largest margin of the game.

At the start of the second half, the Lancers’ overall sloppy play allowed eight unanswered Huskies points to bring East L.A. to within one, at 39-38. From there, the Huskies would keep it close, but when East L.A. trailed 45-43, Joel Nolen’s jumper would spark a 12-5 run to give the Lancers the second largest lead of the game, 59-48, with 8:24 remaining.

“Our biggest problem this season is consistency,” added Swanegan. “We’ve been up and then down during games; as we continue to grow, we’ll get better.”

The Huskies would rally behind a 14-6 run late in the second half to come within three, 65-62, with two minutes remaining, but 27 costly turnovers and missed opportunities would give the Lancers just enough edge to seal the victory.

The Lancers improve to 17-8 overall and 1-1 in South Coast Conference play. Coach Swanegan, who is in his second season as Head Coach, said the victory was significant because of last year’s 4-win season.

“I didn’t expect us to be where we are this soon,” he said. “The kids are playing hard, and we can still get better.”

The Lancers play Mt. San Antonio College on Friday at the Hutton-Patterson Gym.

PCC forward Elliot Berry rises up over East L.A.’s Justin Wallace in the Lancers’ 76-67 win over the Huskies on Wednesday night at East L.A. (Jeremy Balan)

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