Gauchos swat Hornets for spot in finals

The Saddleback men's basketball team saw a little preview of what's to come in conference play as they took on Orange Empire Conference foe Fullerton College in the semifinals of the Riverside Holiday Tournament on Thursday.  The Gauchos passed the first test, beating the Hornets for a spot in the finals.

Saddleback and Fullerton are very familiar with one another as Hornet coach Perry Webster is a former Gaucho player and assistant coach for Saddleback head coach Andy Ground.  The mentor won the first battle of the year with the protégé on Thursday as the Gauchos taught the Hornets a few lessons about defense.

Saddleback and Fullerton were close throughout the first half, with the Gauchos opening up a seven point lead over the first seven minutes before the Hornets chipped away at the lead.  Fullerton took the lead at 21-18 with 6:07 remaining in the half when Dillon Reise buried a three-pointer in what would end up being the Hornets biggest lead of the game.

Saddleback would battle back to take the lead at 28-24 when Jake Hawes made a shot of his own from beyond the arc with 1:29 on the clock.  It was part of a 10-3 run where Fullerton failed to score for last 3:21.  The Gauchos would have to settle for a 30-28 lead heading to the locker room at the half.

The teams were neck and neck to start the second half, trading the lead as neither team could make a significant run.  Fullerton cut the lead to 41-40 on a basket by Reise at the 11:27 mark of the second half, but that's where the fun ran out for Fullerton.  The Saddleback defense took over, holding the Hornets scoreless for 6:02.  Fullerton was 0-for-6 from the field with two turnovers during the slump while the Gauchos rattled off nine points for a 50-40 lead.  Reise made a free throw to momentarily stop the bleeding at 5:25, but Saddleback quickly added baskets by T.J. Shorts and Breaon Brady, who turned his into a three-point play and a commanding 55-41 lead with only 4;17 left in the game. 

Kenny Barnes did his best to keep Fullerton in the game with a couple of late layups, but Noah Rasheed iced the game for the Gauchos at the free throw line with 18 seconds remaining as Saddleback held on for a 58-50 win.

Shorts finished with a game-high 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting while Brady added 14 points inside.  The Gaucho defense held Fullerton to 36% shooting for the game as the Hornets made only 4-of-17 from three-point range.

Saddleback will face the winner of Riverside and Chaffey, who were playing in the other semifinal later in the evening.  The championship game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM on Friday.