Gauchos swat Hornets for OEC lead

The Saddleback men's basketball team took over first place in the Orange Empire Conference with a 56-54 win over Fullerton College on Friday night in Fullerton.  It was a tight battle all the way through as neither team led by more than seven points the entire night.

Saddleback and Fullerton know a lot about one-another as former Saddleback assistant coach Perry Webster took over the Hornet program at the beginning of the season as has quickly paid dividends.  It was like a chess match between to masters and, for the time being, the protégé will have to wait for another chance as Gaucho coach Andy Ground defeated him by a narrow margin for the second time this season.

Saddleback's defense proved to be the difference, holding Fullerton to 23.6% shooting while forcing 15 turnovers.  The Hornets stayed in the game by getting to the free throw line, making 24-of-29 from the charity stripe as Julian Richardson scored a game-high 23 points.

Saddleback received another great performance from Maurice Jones off the bench.  Jones finished with 16 points and six rebounds in 26 minutes, making 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.  He was part of a deep bench that outscored the Hornet bench 26-6. 

The game was very close in the opening half until Fullerton made a run before heading to the locker rooms.  The game was tied at 26-26 with 4:13 remaining when the Gauchos went ice cold, going scoreless for over four minutes in falling behind by seven.  Brandon Fagins finally made a layup with three seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 33-28 at the intermission.

Saddleback again came out cold in the second half, scoring just two points in the opening 3:45.   Fullerton, however, was not able to capitalize, scoring only two points of their own for a 35-30 advantage. 

It was the only two points Fullerton would score in the opening 7:41 of the second half as the Gaucho defense made a statement.  Fullerton went 6:41 without scoring a point as Saddleback surged ahead for a 36-35 lead with 13:02 remaining on a Breaon Brady layup.  It was the first time the Gauchos had led in 21 minutes as the Hornets missed nine straight shots from the field over 8.5 minutes of play.

From that point forward, neither team led by more than four points as both offenses seemed to find a rhythm.  Lyle Hexom slammed home a dunk with 8:32 left and later hit two free throws to tie the game at 44-44 with 7:53 remaining.  Jones and Brady followed with layups on successive possessions as Saddleback grabbed a 48-47 lead with 5:45 left in the game.

The Hornets would take back the lead on a pair of Kenny Barnes free throws with 5:18 remaining, but from that point forward the Gaucho defense took control.  Fullerton went scoreless for the next 3:52 as Saddleback took its largest lead of the game at 53-49 with 1:45 to play. 

The Hornets weren't going to go down quietly, as Julian Richardson made four straight free throws to get Fullerton within 55-54 with eight seconds remaining.  The Hornets then fouled T.J. Shorts, an 80% free throw shooter for the season, with six seconds remaining.  Shorts made just 1-of-2, giving Fullerton a shot at pulling off the upset.  The Hornets went back to Richardson for a three-point attempt, but Richardson was a bit off the mark as Saddleback competed the comeback with a 56-54 thriller.

The win gives the Gauchos (20-1, 5-0) sole possession of first place in the Orange Empire Conference.  It was also the 14^th straight win for Saddleback, who hasn't lost since November 28. 

The Gauchos will be in action again at Orange Coast College on Wednesday for the final game of the opening round of conference play.  Tip time is scheduled for 5:00 PM.