Gauchos win prestigious RCC title

The Saddleback men's basket all team finished what they started this week by taking down Mt. San Jacinto College, 67-59, in the finals of the 43^rd annual Riverside City College Holiday Tournament.  The Gauchos dominated from start-to-finish, improving to 13-1 on the season.

Mt. San Jacinto had a quick start, jumping out to a 5-2 lead in the opening minute of the game in making two of their first three shots of the game.  Unfortunately for the Eagles, the hot start cooled very quickly as MSJC couldn't buy a basket for the next 19 minutes, making just 4-of-28 attempts as Saddleback grabbed a 35-16 lead at the intermission.  The Gaucho defense stifled an offense that came in averaging nearly 88 points-per-game, forcing nine turnovers in the opening half and out-rebounding the Eagles 24-16. 

Collin Host scored nine points off the bench in the opening 20 minutes and Jalen Hall added eight as the Saddleback bench outscored MSJC's entire lineup in the opening frame.  The Eagles made only 19% of their shots while Saddleback shot 47%, stunning a partial Mt. San Jacinto crowd that made the short trip to RCC.

The second half started the same way, as MSJC scored the first five points in cutting the lead to 35-21 in the opening minute.  Once again Saddleback had an answer as Dusty Baker scored four straight points in pushing the lead back up to 18 as the Eagle momentum was thwarted.  MSJC would go three minutes without scoring as Saddleback pushed the lead to 20 on a Collin Host layup, all but ending any hope for the Eagle faithful.

Saddleback would finish with four players in double figures, led by Baker with 18.   The 6-foot-4 guard from Tesoro High School also led the Gauchos with 10 rebounds in the finals, making 10-of-14 from the free throw line and dishing out two assists. 

Joining Baker in double figures was Host with 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field.  Hall and Conor Clifford would also finish with 10 points apiece as Saddleback once again iced the game at the free throw line for a third straight night.  The Gauchos made 29-of-35 (83%) from the charity stripe on Saturday as Mt. San Jacinto never got closer than 10 points in the final 31 minutes of the game.

With the win, Saddleback (13-1) claims its third tournament championship of the year (Desert, Palomar, Riverside).  The Gauchos will be back in action on Thursday when they host the Bill Brummel Classic.  Saddleback will open against MiraCosta College at 7:00 PM on Thursday.  All games can be seen live on the Gaucho Sports Network via streaming video for a minimal fee.