On Tuesday night, the Bear Cubs (17-6, 9-2) hosted the Consumnes River Hawks (14-9, 7-4). Santa Rosa entered the game leading in the Big 8 Conference standings by half a game over Sacramento City College. In the first matchup versus Consumnes River, the Bear Cubs lost 62-55. Since the loss in the first game between the two schools, Santa Rosa has won seven straight games and is looking to stay atop the standings.

The Hawks scored on a two-point basket to start the game, but Guard, Andrew Pengel and Forward, Ezekiel Stallworth made back-to-back three-point shots to make the score 6-2 Bear Cubs. Consumnes River took a timeout after Stallworth got another quick basket to make it an 8-2 Santa Rosa advantage. Off of the timeout, the Hawks made a three-point jumper, but Forward, Justin Smith made a jump shot from the elbow, making the score 10-5 with about 17 minutes left in the half. Santa Rosa went scoreless until Pengel drained a three-pointer at the 12:47 mark, but the Bear Cubs added to their lead because the defense only allowed two points to CRC during the four-minute span. After a CRC basket cut Santa Rosa's lead to four, Pengel made a two-point shot, and Guard, Yatyn Anderson hit a three-pointer to extend the lead to nine points. CRC then went on a 5-0 run of their own before Pengel made his third three-pointer of the half. Forward, Stephen Ransom pushed Santa Rosa's lead back to nine points with an 18-foot jump shot. The lead extended to 13 with two free throws from Smith and a made basket by Guard, Jackson Smyth with 6:28 before the half. A three-pointer from Smyth at 5:33 made the score 30-14, Bear Cubs. Guard, Zeke Grund got onto the scoreboard with a two-point make and  Smith converted a three-point play to put the Bear Cubs ahead 35-14. Another two-point basket by Stallworth made the score 37-14. A three-point field goal by CRC stopped a 19-0 Bear Cub run. In the final 3:15 of the half the Bear Cubs outscored the Hawks 11-2 with five points from Ransom, four from Stallworth, and two from Smith. From the 9:17 mark until halftime when the score was 18-14, Santa Rosa went on a 30-5 run.

Smith scored on a low post move on the first possession of the second half, making the score 50-19. CRC then converted on an and-one attempt before Stallworth made a two-point basket. Both teams split a pair of free throws, then CRC hit a two-point jumper. Pengel knocked down his fourth three-pointer of the game before the Hawks answered back with a three-pointer of their own. Smith would score again in the post and Stallworth made another fadeaway jumper for the Bear Cubs to get to the sixty-point mark. After Ransom split a pair of free throws, which made the score 61-33, CRC started showing signs of life. The Hawks went on a quick 6-0 run, which was halted momentarily by two points from Smyth. Another quick 5-0 Hawks run put the Bear Cub lead under twenty points. A bucket in the post by Ransom put the lead back over twenty with 10:21 remaining. The Hawks made a jump shot, but Ransom made a pair of free throws on Santa Rosa's next possession. Following an exchange of two-point baskets, CRC made another three-point basket with 8:52 to play, cutting it to an 18-point deficit. The Hawks scored once more with 8:23 left, 69-53 Santa Rosa advantage. A three-point play by Smith looked to calm CRC's second-half charge. Another 6-0 run by CRC made the score 72-59 with 5:36 to play. A banked-in three-point shot by Smith and a dunk by Ransom pushed Santa Rosa's lead to 77-61 at the 4:27 mark. The two teams exchanged two-point shots with 3:59 to play. At the 3:50 mark, with the game seemingly in hand, Head Coach, Craig McMillan made wholesale changes. In the final minutes, Ben White scored on a running shot as the shot clock expired, Dave Baraka scored on a putback off an offensive rebound, and Gavin Vogensen made a layup. The Bear Cubs held on for an 86-71 victory. The offensive splits were 33-62 (53.2%) from the field, 8-19 (42.1%) from three and 12-19 (63.2%) from the free throw line. Justin Smith was the leading scorer with 23 points, followed by Ezekiel Stallworth with 16 points, Andrew Pengel and Stephen Ransom with 14 points. 

Next Up: SRJC at American River, Tuesday (2/13) 5:30 PM.