Gauchos to host East LA in regional semis

The Saddleback men's basketball team continued its winning ways on Saturday night in the Southern California playoffs and up next is a date with East Los Angeles College in the regional semifinals on Wednesday night.  The Gauchos and Huskies will tip things off at 7:00 PM from the Brummel Dome.

Saddleback (26-4) and East LA (21-7) have not played a ton of times over the years, as the last time they played a game was in 2001-02 when the Gauchos defeated East LA 91-59 in the fourth game of the season.  The Huskies have been a part of the Saddleback Brummel Classic in recent years, but for one reason or another never got matched up against the Gauchos in the tournament.

East Los Angeles enters the game at 21-7 overall and riding a four-game winning streak after beating Mira Costa College, 76-63, on Friday night at MCC.  The Huskies finished in third place in the South Coast Conference, but defeated league champion Mt. San Antonio College twice during the course of the conference schedule…a program that was ranked No. 1 in Southern California for a large part of the season.

East Los Angeles comes into the game averaging 73.6 points-per-game while surrendering 65.4 for a +8.2 for the season.  The Huskies are led by Jaree Crawford and Aaron Cheatum, who combine for over 30 points-per-game.  Crawford (pictured left) is a 6-foot-5 forward that averages 17.3 points-per-game on 45% shooting from the field.  He is anything but a classic power-forward, however, as he likes to step out and shoot the three-point shot with 86 attempts for the year.  Cheatum is a bit bigger at 6-foot-7 and averages 13.2 points-per-game on 46% shooting from the field.  He, like Crawford, also likes to pull the trigger from downtown and shot 42% from beyond the arc during the course of the season.  In addition to being the big scorers on the team, Crawford and Cheatum also handle most of the work underneath the basket as they combine for nearly 16 rebounds-per-game.

Saddleback rolls into the game riding a 16-game winning streak dating back to mid-December.  It is the longest streak for the program since winning 16 straight back in 2008-09.  The next target for the Gauchos is a 21-game winning streak back in 2001-02, and Saddleback looks to take the first step towards that goal against East L.A. on Wednesday.

The Gauchos are a +9.9 in scoring, outscoring opponents 66.6-56.7 for the season.  Saddleback runs a balanced attack, as eight different players have led the team in scoring for at least one game.  In the win over Citrus it was sixth man A.J. Brevard that lit up the Owls for 25 points, but during the course of the season it was Darnell Taylor that led the Gauchos with 11.9 points-per-game.  McKay LaSalle led Saddleback with 12.1 points-per-game in Orange Empire Conference play, while Carlton Hayes led the team in three-point shooting heading into the game against Citrus before a 0-for-2 performance dropped him to No. 3.  On defense, the 64 points by Citrus on Saturday night were the most points scored by an opponent since Fresno City scored 79 on December 18.  The Gauchos entered the game holding 15 straight opponents under 60 points before Citrus put up 64.

Game time on Wednesday night is 7:00 PM.  The price for admission is $8 for adults and $5 for children (under 12) and students with a current student ID.  Children under five are free.

LOOKING INTO THE CRYSTAL BALL
For some that believe that history repeats itself, Saddleback has two trivial facts going in its favor.  (1) The last time the Gauchos played East LA was in 2001-02, the season Saddleback won its first-ever state title.  (2) Since 2007-08 when Citrus won the state championship, every team that has knocked the Owls out of the tournament has gone on to win the state title (Riverside '09, Saddleback '10, San Francisco '11, Fresno City '12).