SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Interstat) — The Barstow College Vikings will look to halt a two-game skid when they face the Santa Barbara City College Vaqueros in a men’s junior college basketball matchup Saturday at the ECC/SBCC Tournament.

Barstow (3-7) enters following a narrow 67-69 road loss to Los Angeles Valley on Friday. The Vikings showed resilience in an overtime win at El Camino on Dec. 11 but have struggled for consistency early in the season.

Santa Barbara (7-4) aims to rebound on its home floor after a 60-67 defeat to Cerritos on Friday. The Vaqueros had won three of their previous four games before that loss.

A key matchup will feature Barstow’s high-scoring guard Trestyne Nguru against Santa Barbara’s balanced attack. Nguru is averaging 24.3 points over his last three games, including a 30-point performance in a win at Long Beach on Dec. 5. He posted 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in Friday’s loss.

For the Vaqueros, forward Jack Berry has been a steady contributor, scoring in double figures in four of his last five outings. He had 12 points and 3 rebounds against Cerritos. Teammate Ramon Cota led Santa Barbara with 15 points in that contest.

According to Interstat’s ELO system, Santa Barbara is projected as a strong favorite with an 81.6% probability to win. The Vikings will need another standout performance from Nguru and support from contributors like Peter Oguama, who had 8 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists Friday, to overcome the odds.

Tip-off is set for Saturday at Santa Barbara City College.