El Camino Survives First-Half Blahs to Nip Pasadena, 79-67

Both El Camino basketball Coach Ron McClurkin and Pasadena Coach George Terzian predicted that Saturday’s South Coast Conference opener at Pasadena would be a tough game.

They didn’t however, predict that it would be a sloppy contest with poor shooting. After all, both teams are ranked in the state’s top 20.

In the end it was El Camino (16-5, 1-0) that found the necessary spark to come away with a 79-67 victory, despite 12 fouls in the first half.

“I told them at halftime,” said McClurkin, “that we’re a better team than these guys. I’m still trying to convince them that they’re the best team in the conference.”

The Warriors dominated the second half despite trailing the Lancers (12-5, 0-1) for most of it and despite a weak performance in the first half.

In the second half, Pasadena led until El Camino freshman guard Frank Beatty, who led the Warriors with 20 points, tied the game with 7:53 left to play.

After that, El Camino, which scored 48 points in the second half, gained the momentum it lacked before intermission.

“We just relaxed in the first half,” McClurkin said. “I just told them to suck it up and play.”

The Warriors held a 7-point lead midway through the first half, but the Lancers shaved it to 1 with eight minutes left after Craig Johnson’s lay-in.

El Camino then had an 8-point run, taking a 26-19 edge after Frank Beatty’s 3-point play with 5:47 left in the half.

But the Lancers took advantage of El Camino’s lax defense and led for the first time with 4:02 left in the half when Kirk Wagner sank two free throws, making the score 30-29.

El Camino scored only once after that, on Kevin Mixon’s jumper, and Pasadena took a 7-point half-time lead after a Wagner dunk that had the crowd in a roar.

Wagner led Pasadena with 23 points. Senior Zlatco Josic, despite a reoccurring ankle injury, scored 14 for the Warriors, and Kevin Mixon had 13.