San Diego City's 20-game home win streak was snapped on Wednesday night with a tough 91-87 loss to No. 4 Mt. San Jacinto in which the Knights could not hold on to a 9-point lead with 2:46 left. Freshman Robby Robinson led the Knights with 21 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks, and four steals.
Three other starters scored in double figures, including freshman Nashom Carter who scored a season-high 19 points and dished out a season-best six assists.
Freshman Kai Huntsberry tied his season-high with 18 points to go with five rebounds. Sophomore Joseph Riley hit 4-of-10 3-pointers on his way to 15 points.
The Knights (9-9) got off to a great start by going ahead 12-2 in the first 5:10 of the game after connecting on three of their first six 3-point attempts. Mount San Jacinto (14-2) responded with a 12-2 run of their own to tie it at 14-14.
Robinson, who notched his ninth double-double of the season, scored 10 of the last 14 points for the Knights in the final 4:36 of the first half to help his team go into the halftime break with a 44-38 lead. He put in 13 of his game-high 21 points to go with seven rebounds in that first period.
The Knights went ahead, 80-69, with 5:37 remaining in the game after a pair of Carter free throws. Mount San Jacinto cut City's lead to seven points, but a jumper by Robinson with 2:46 left to put the Knights back up by nine and in great position to pull off the upset of the No. 4-ranked team in the state.
The Eagles, however, hit a 3-pointer on the other end and then immediately called a timeout. After that huddle, the Eagles went into a full-court press that bothered the Knights into three turnovers that led to two layups for Mt. San Jacinto as they got to within two points (85-83) with 1:50 left.
Huntsberry was fouled with 48 seconds on the clock and made both free throws to put the Knights ahead, 87-84. The Eagles' Lenzell Simmons tied it with a 3 on the other end and then, after a Robinson missed layup, Mt. San Jacinto took an 89-87 lead on a jumper from Deshawn Millington with 14 seconds left.
After another turnover, the Knights were forced to foul with six seconds remaining. Terrell Gray, who led the Eagles with 21 points, put the game away by hitting both free throws.
The home loss was City's first since November 6, 2016.
The Knights finished non-conference play at 9-9 and will now turn their attention to the PCAC season which begins at Grossmont on January 18. The Knights will go into the 2019 conference season having won the last three championships, and four of the last five.
They have gone undefeated in the PCAC South the last three seasons, a streak of 28 straight wins, and are 42-2 over the last five seasons.
