Gauchos bounce back with win over Pirates

Saddleback started a new winning streak on Friday with a 70-55 win at Orange Coast College.  The Gauchos dominated the game inside as Conor Clifford got things turned around after an off night on Wednesday.

Saddleback was coming off its first loss in two months on Friday and some wondered how the Gauchos would respond.  At first, things looked eerily similar to Wednesday as Saddleback fell behind Orange Coast and never got back to even over the first 10 minutes.  Dusty Baker made a pair of free throws with 9:15 remaining in the opening half to give the Gauchos a 15-14 lead and from that point forward Saddleback was off and running.  Saddleback outscored Orange Coast 25-9 over the final 10 minutes, opening up a 35-23 lead at the intermission. 

Clifford was the catalyst, scoring 11 points with four rebounds over the first 20 minutes as Saddleback controlled the boards.  The Gauchos out-rebounded the Pirates 16-9 in the half while Clifford was 5-of-6 from the field.

Saddleback again came out careless in the second half, committing five turnovers in the first 4.5 minutes as Orange Coast chipped away at the lead.  The Pirates narrowed the gap to three when Devasyai Haggar made a layup to cut the lead to 43-40. 

From that point forward the Gauchos righted the ship, slowly stretching the lead and methodically taking apart the Pirates.  Saddleback's defense was the difference, holding the Pirates to just one basket and three free throws over the final 6:10.  Orange Coast would finish at 33% from the field in the second frame, making an occasional three-point shot for a glimmer of hope.

Collin Host had a big second half for Saddleback, scoring 12 of his 14 points over the final 20 minutes.  He was 5-of-7 from the field in the second half as the Gauchos once again controlled the boards, out-rebounding the Pirates 22-10.

Saddleback improved to 22-2 overall and 5-1 in Orange Empire Conference play with the win.   The Gauchos have a 1.5 game lead over Santa Ana, Riverside and Irvine Valley heading into a bye on Wednesday.  Saddleback will be back in action next Friday when they travel to Cypress College to take on the Chargers.  Tip time is scheduled for 5:00 PM.