Kinnebrew and Jackson Lead Bulldogs into Classic Championship Game, Hancock Edges Pierce 72-69 in Overtime

Erik Kinnebrew earned his first career double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Dominic Jackson added 14 points to lead the Allan Hancock College men's basketball team to a thrilling 72-69 overtime win over L.A. Pierce in the semifinals for the Bulldogs' Holiday Classic on Thursday evening. With its second straight overtime victory, the Bulldogs improved to 7-9 and advanced to the championship game. The Brahmas dropped to 4-9 overall.

Hancock will face Palomar in the title game at 5 p.m. on Friday inside Joe White Memorial Gymnasium. Hancock advanced to the championship game of the Holiday Classic for the first time since 2012. The Bulldogs will go for their 15^th Classic crown and first since 2011.

Kinnebrew made 7-of-9 from the field, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range to finish with a career-best 17 points. He pulled down 12 boards, all on the defensive end. The freshman also had four assists, four blocked shots and two steals.

Jackson was 6-for-10 from the floor, and hit a 3-point shot. The sophomore reached double-figures for the first time in six games. He pulled down six rebounds and had two steals for the Bulldogs.

Hancock led 62-51 with 1:57 to play in regulation after Nolan Willett made a bucket. However, the Brahmas closed the game on a 9-0 run. Lucious Coleman hit two 3-pointers, and Wayne Currie hit a three to make it a 62-60 game with 1:01 to play. Coleman hit a layup to tie it with less than 10 seconds to play to force overtime.

After going back and forth for the first few minutes in overtime, Parker scored to put Hancock ahead 68-66 with 1:42 to play. Jordan Newt buried a triple to give Pierce a 69-68 lead with 50 seconds to play. The Bulldogs regained the lead for good when Parker scored inside with 24 seconds left to take a 70-69 lead. The Brahmas missed two 3-point shots the rest of the way, and Marc Fabricius sank both of his free-throw attempts to seal the victory.

Hancock shot 53 percent from the field and hit four of 10 from 3-point range. The Bulldogs hit 14-of-26 from the free-throw line or 54 percent. The Bulldog defense held the Brahmas to 30 percent shooting from the field, and 25 percent from 3-point range.

The Bulldogs committed 23 turnovers that led to 23 points by the Brahmas. Pierce also had 21 second-chance points thanks to 19 offensive rebounds.

L.A. Pierce and Cuesta will play in the third place game on Friday at 3 p.m.