Gauchos close out 2016 with a win

The Saddleback men's basketball team closed out the 2016 calendar year with a 70-54 win over Glendale College on Friday in Glendale.  The Gauchos head into the Orange Empire Conference schedule at 14-2 overall.

Saddleback had one more warm-up before starting OEC play and finished the year on a high note.  The Gauchos went to the bench and received 39 points from guys not in the starting lineup.  Jake Hawes had a game-high 15 points, connecting on 5-of-6 shots from beyond the arc.  Joining him off the bench in double-digits was Josh Feitl, who had 11 points and five rebounds in 19 minutes of work.

Saddleback had a slow start, falling behind 8-4 after the Vaqueros scored eight points in a 1.5-minute span.  Glendale kept it close through the first 16 minutes as Ange-Michel Kuo made a jumper at 5:56 of the half for a 20-19 lead.  From that point forward the Gaucho defense took over the game.  Saddleback went on a 20-7 run to close out the half while Glendale made just 2-of-10 shots from the field the rest of the way.  Meanwhile, Hawes made three, three-pointers in a one-minute span and the Gauchos were off and running.  When he finally took a break, T.J. Shorts took over with seven points in the final 5:49 of the half. 

Trailing 37-26 at the intermission, Glendale came out of the locker room and quickly cut the lead to six as Saddleback couldn't find the bottom of the net over the first four minutes.  It was as close as Glendale would get as the Gauchos found their stride.  Shorts made a lay-up to stop the bleeding and Feitl and Chance Kalaugher followed with back-to-back three pointers as the lead grew to 14 at 48-34 with 13:27 remaining.  Later in the half the lead rose to 16 when Colin Ferrier connected from long range with 8:51 remaining as Saddleback ran away from Glendale, leading by as many as 19 late in the game.  Ferrier would finish with a season-high eight points in the game.

In addition to Hawes' 15, Shorts finished with 14 on 5-of-9 shooting from the field.   The Gauchos were 10-for-24 from long range as five different players connected from beyond the arc.

 Saddleback is now 14-2 for the year and will open Orange Empire Conference play next week when they travel to Orange Coast on Wednesday.  Tip time is scheduled for 7:00 PM in Costa Mesa.