The #19 Men's Basketball team hosted #11 Hancock in a WSC North showdown. The Raiders knew what was at stake, a win and they move into a half game lead over the conference leading Bulldogs with 2 games to play and eventual co-championship. A loss would mean a second place finish and a road play-off game. As it turns out the Raiders needed a rally to get the win, 72-65.

The first half started and as expected, was a back and forth affair. Both teams exchanges buckets for the first 13 minutes with niether able to grab control. With the score tied at 16, the Bulldogs went on a 6-0 run to give them a little space. The Raiders came right back with a 14-2 run to take a 30-24 lead with 2:30 left in the first half. Hancock closed out the half with a 8-4 run but it was the Raiders that took the halftime lead, 34-31.

The second half started the same as the first with both exchanging baskets. It was Hancock that slowly took control taking a 52-46 with just over 11 minutes remaining. Hancock maintained the lead but the Raiders started to chip away at the lead. The Raiders outscored the Bulldogs 16-5 to take a 62-57 with 3:06 left. Hancock fought back to tie the game at 63 with just under 2 minutes left but the Raiders closed out the game with 9-2 run which included a Kenji Cooper 3, a Avi Halpert lay-up and Jack Benyshek's 4 made free-throws to ice the game.

Benyshek led the Raiders with a game high 26 points. Halpert added 17 points with 5 rebounds. Jamaal Unuakalu had 15 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocked shots.

Next up for the Raiders is Oxnard on Sophomore Night, Saturday, 2/17 at 1p. They will hope to avoid the trap game at Cuesta, Wednesday, 2/21, to close out the regular season.