Preview: Long Beach Vikings at Santiago Canyon Hawks

ORANGE, Calif. (Interstat) — A surging Santiago Canyon men’s basketball team will look to continue its winning ways when it hosts a struggling Long Beach squad in a California community college non-conference matchup Wednesday night.

The Hawks (7-3) enter on a high note after a dominant 95-60 road victory over San Diego Miramar last Friday. Guard Jacob De Armas led the charge with 22 points, while Ryan Weber added 20 points and nine rebounds. Santiago Canyon has won five of its last seven games.

Conversely, the Long Beach Vikings (3-8) have lost eight of their last ten. They snapped a four-game skid with an 83-69 home win over Cuyamaca on Dec. 10, but the victory was an outlier in a difficult early season.

The game features a compelling individual matchup between two of the state’s top junior college performers. Long Beach will lean heavily on forward Kamron Fontenot, who is coming off a monstrous 31-point, 21-rebound effort in the win over Cuyamaca. Over his last five games, Fontenot is averaging 20.2 points and 11.2 rebounds.

He will be countered by Santiago Canyon’s dynamic guard Jacob De Armas. A consistent scoring threat, De Armas has averaged 18.8 points over his last six contests, including a 27-point performance in a narrow loss to Copper Mountain on Dec. 9.

Team trends heavily favor the home side. Santiago Canyon averages 80.2 points per game and has shown offensive balance. Long Beach, averaging just 69.5 points, has been held under 70 points in six of its eight losses and will need secondary scoring beyond Fontenot to support Lawrence Brown and Zakai Hunter, who combined for 36 points in the last outing.

The Hawks have been strong at home this season, posting a 4-1 record. The Vikings are 2-4 in road and neutral-site games.

Tip-off is set for Wednesday, Dec. 17, at Santiago Canyon College. Following this contest, Santiago Canyon travels to Los Angeles Harbor on Friday, while Long Beach hosts Ventura.