The Pierce men’s basketball team faced an uphill battle after losing four out of the first five games of the season, with a 51-72 loss against East Los Angeles College last Wednesday.
The Brahmas played an exciting match against East LA, but it that showed them what skills need to be worked on. According to Assistant Basketball Coach Tarrance Taylor, it’s defense.
“You can’t win if you don’t play defense, there is no secret sauce,” Taylor said.
Assistant Basketball Coach Michael Farmer said the Brahmas fell behind on defense during the game.
He said they need to work on “rebounding and getting in the passing lanes”
The first two-pointer was scored by center Brenton Scott to tip off the game, with point guard Jordan Newt dropping dimes throughout the game.
East LA took the lead with a six points in the first ten minutes of the first half, which fueled the Brahmas to hustle on the court.
Shooting guard and small forward Randle Lacey made a layup to move the Brahmas from 9 points to 13 points in the first half.
East LA Huskies had their first personal foul on Newt, and continued leading 11-33 against the Brahmas.
Halftime score was 47-25 with East LA still in the lead,
Continuing to push through the second half, the Brahmas scored two points, getting them to 38 points against East LA’s 60.
A shot clock violation was called on East LA, the score was still 60-38, and the Brahmas fought on.
The East LA Huskies won the game with 51-72, giving the Brahmas their fourth loss.
Coach Farmer said the Brahmas needed to prevent East LA’s opportunities at offensive rebounds, but East LA was too quick.
“A lot of times they’re getting their offense too easy and reversing the ball too easy,” Farmer said.
Farmer said the Brahmas need to “put more pressure on that ball and in the passing lanes.”
Farmer said that strength-wise the Brahmas did well.
“We didn’t break down mentally, where we were getting a lot of teasing and getting frustrated at each other,” Farmer said. “We just have to go back into the lab and practice our fundamentals.”
Former Brahma, center Benjamin Dinkins said although he turned in his jersey this season, he still supports from the sidelines.
He said the offense has maintained steady, but could be improved upon on the court. “The bigs post up a lot, they work hard in the post,” Dinkins said. “And when they post, they’re not getting the ball or even looked at.”
Dinkins said the point guards and shooting guards don’t have too much ball movement.
The Brahmas’ next game will be at West Los Angeles College on Nov. 30 through Dec. 2.
