The Long Beach City College men’s basketball team suffered a 96-79 loss to No. 1 state-ranked San Bernardino Valley College on Tuesday in an opening-round game of the 40^th annual Wells Fargo Holliday Classic at Riverside City College.

 

San Bernardino Valley opened up the contest with an 11-0 run and led 21-6 midway in the first half. The Vikings rallied to get within 10 points at halftime (41-31) but would get no closer.

 

Sophomore Chris Brown came off the bench to lead Long Beach (3-5 overall) with 18 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Stephan Gwin posted 16 points and eight rebounds, while freshman Isaiah Bridgette also scored 16 points.

 

Curtis Wilkerson led undefeated San Bernardino Valley (9-0) with 24 points and 16 rebounds.

 

Long Beach returns to tournament action in Riverside on Thursday (Dec. 10) at 12 p.m. when it will face either L.A. Pierce or Mt. San Antonio College.

Reports From LBCC’s Chris Ruiz