Gauchos exterminate Hornets for 5th straight title

The Saddleback men's basketball team won its fifth consecutive Orange Empire Conference championship on Wednesday night with a 61-49 victory over Fullerton College at the Saddleback Gymnasium.  T.J. Shorts scored 21 points while the defense was suffocating, giving the Gauchos 20-straight wins. 

Shorts was magical at times, frustrating a Fullerton defense with cat-like moves in the offensive end and then following it up with pinpoint defense.  Along with his big night from the field, he collected four rebounds and three assists while holding Fullerton point guard Ian Fox to eight points for the night.

It was also a big night for Brandon Fagins, who came up big in the offensive end with both Breaon Brady and Lyle Hexom in foul trouble.  Fagins and Shorts teamed up in the final 30 seconds when Shorts fed Fagins for a thunderous dunk and a 12-point lead. 

Shorts finished with a game high 21 points, making 8-of-9 from the free throw line.  Fagins finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, making 5-of-7 shots from the field.

Saddleback's defense has always been a hallmark of the program and again showed up when they needed it the most on Wednesday night.  Fullerton went 8:24 without making a basket from the field in the first half, having to settle for a handful of free throws while Saddleback built an eight-point lead.   The Hornet struggles continued to open the second half when they went 3:20 without a point as the Gaucho lead grew to 10.  Things went from bad to worse when Fullerton failed to score a point for 7:18 during the middle of the second half as the Saddleback lead expanded to 51-33 with just over six minutes remaining.

Saddleback's defense was evident by the final numbers on the stat sheet as the Hornets shot just 28% for the night, making only 8-of-32 shots in the second half.  Fullerton missed all 10 shots from three-point range in the second 20 minutes, with Fox going 0-for-7 on the night. 

Saddleback improved to 26-1 for the year and 11-0 in OEC play.  The Gauchos will try to run the winning streak to 21 games on Friday night at home against Orange Coast.  Tip time is scheduled for 7:00 PM.