Gauchos finish 3rd at Palomar

The men's basketball team won 2-of-3 this past weekend at the Palomar Tournament in San Marcos.  The Gauchos took home the third place trophy with a win over Southwestern.

Saddleback has a mostly new roster after 10 players from the 2015-16 squad moved on to four-year universities so it was unclear as to what to expect in 2016-17.  The Gauchos are 6-2 out of the gate, including a third place finish at Palomar.

Saddleback opened the tournament with a 77-62 win over Miramar to advance to the semifinals.  In that game, sophomore guard T.J. Shorts had 22 points and 10 assists in 33 minutes.  The Gauchos had a four point lead at the break before running away from the Jets in the second half.

Saddleback dropped the semifinal game against San Diego City College, 67-60, putting them into the third place game on Sunday.  The Gauchos responded from the disappointment with a 60-52 win against the Jaguars to improve to 6-2 overall.  Shorts was again the catalyst, scoring a team-high 17 points with five assists to lead the way.

Saddleback will open the home schedule on Friday when they host Southwestern College.  Tip time is scheduled for 5:00 PM at the gymnasium.