On my way to cover the game, about 50 miles outside of Bakersfield, I drove past a barn yard. The wind must have not been in my favor because I started speeding to get away from the smell. I was happy it only took me about five minutes to get past it.

As it turns out, this would be a prelude to something that would stink in Bakersfield that night: the Corsair's men basketball team. They were utterly dismal. I know this is tough love, but it's true.

Immaturity and mental mistakes are one thing. Not having your head in the game is quiet another. I watched seven consecutive possessions in which the Corsairs did not hit the backboard, let alone make a shot. That's right: seven back-to-back turnovers, three of which occurred before the men had reached half court.

And the turnovers you ask? Passing the ball four feet over someone's head; throwing a full court pass when there is only one man on your team to receive it who is guarded by three of the opponent's men; and best of all, a double dribble call.

Come on; back in the last century when I was in high-school, a double dribble call got you 50 laps around the gym at next practice; and your girl friend broke up with you for two weeks.

The Bakersfield Renegades were not playing spectacular ball either; at least not reflective of the score. The Corsairs were simply playing that badly.

Both teams turned the ball over often. The difference was that the Renegades were sinking baskets.

The Renegades get the ball first and score two points in less than ten seconds. It took three and half minutes before anyone scored again, but finally, Bakersfield hits a beautiful three-pointer and are up 5-0.

The Corsair's first score was also a nice three point shot followed by a field goal, but Bakersfield responded quickly. With 14:37 left in the first period, they led 12-5. Rodney Hudson makes a nice steal and takes it all the way back for a two-point shot and it looked like it would be a game with a 12-7 score. Unfortunately, it was a short-lived come-back. By the time they headed into the lockers at half time, the Renegades led by 46-22.

The second half was worse than the first, at least for the Corsairs. The only spark shown was after three minutes of play. Kris Mehdipour steals the ball and then passes to Hudson who makes a great lay up. With this steal the score is now 57-32 Renegades. But several packets of four to six unanswered points by Bakersfield made it impossible for the Corsairs to come back. With five minutes left in the game and a score of 82-58, all hope was lost.

The final score was 95 for Bakersfield Renegades; 63 Santa Monica College Corsairs.

SMC Coach Jerome Jenkins said that he had a very young and immature team. It is hard for a young team to get back-to-back victories, especially on the road. “Last week we had a big victory and we didn't know how to come back from a big victory,” he said.

It was a huge victory. Citrus lost to the Corsairs last week at the Pavilion and it was their first division loss of the season.

The coach was optimistic despite the dismal performance. “We played the number nine team in the state and they came out and put a cleaning on us tonight. We will keep working and go back to the drawing board,” he said. Home games are essential to the coach. “We are going to try to win our home games and steal a few road victories on the road. We need to learn how to play in different environments,”he said.

With this loss the Corsairs drop to 1-4, and to last place in the conference. Bakersfield is tied for first place with Citrus at 4-1.