Gauchos clamp down on Wolverines in semis

The Saddleback men's basketball team welcomed back an old friend on Friday in beating San Bernardino Valley College 57-51 in the semifinals of the 43^rd Annual Riverside College Holiday Tournament.  The Gaucho defense was suffocating as Saddleback advanced to the finals on Saturday night.

Saddleback has started to put together a string of games where they are making it tough for opponents to score.  On Friday it was like a Picasso portrait as the Gauchos limited a San Bernardino offense that came into the contest averaging  just under 77 points-per-game.

Saddleback led from start to finish as Dusty Baker opened the scoring with a three-pointer on the opening offensive possession.  The Gauchos would eventually widen the lead to 15 with six minutes remaining in the half as San Bernardino had no answers in the offensive end of the court.  Andrew Bournes (pictured) would help from the outside, making 3-of-3 from three-point range in the opening half as Saddleback went to the locker room with a 30-24 lead.

San Bernardino would cut the lead to four to start the second half before Saddleback made another run.  The defense was key…holding the Wolverines without a point for nearly seven minutes in putting the game out of reach.  San Bernardino was 0-for-4 from the field during the stretch, turning the ball over seven times against the Gaucho pressure.  When they finally came out of the funk they were down 16 with just over 10 minutes remaining.

Saddleback used a balanced attack, as four different players scored in double figures on the night.  Maleke Haynes led the Gauchos with 13 points while Conor Clifford had 12, Bournes finished with 11 and Baker 10.  After a tough opener of the tournament from the free throw line, it was the second straight game where they made the opponent pay a price for fouls, burying 17-of-21 from the charity stripe on the night.

Saddleback (12-1) advanced to the finals where they will meet Mt. San Jacinto College (11-3), who defeated Los Angeles Pierce 89-74 in the other semifinal.  Tip time is scheduled for 7:00 PM.