Cuesta College men’s basketball team loses to San Diego

Karem Ozel scored 12 points in the Cuesta men’s basketball 54-52 loss to San Diego at the Grossmont Tournament on Friday.

Roberto Mantovani added 11 points and 11 rebounds as the Cougars fell to 6-4 on the year. Mantovani took a last second 3-pointer that rimmed out at the buzzer.

Cuesta shot 29.7 percent from the floor for the game and was unable to capitalize on San Diego’s 17 turnovers. San Diego mustered a 35.8 percent tally from the field.

It was the seventh game for Cuesta against a top 10 ranked opponent this year, coach Rusty Blair said.

The two 7-footers that San Diego had forced Cuesta to the perimeter, where they shot 8 of 27 from beyond the arc.

“They changed shots inside,” Blair said . “It was a poor shooting performance from both teams.”

Cuesta continues play in the Grossmont Tournament on Saturday, taking on West Los Angeles College at 2 p.m. in the consolation bracket.

This story was originally published December 5, 2015 at 12:47 PM with the headline "Cuesta College men’s basketball team loses to San Diego."