Gauchos make quick work of the 951

The Saddleback men's basketball team ran its winning streak to 12 on Friday with a 67-51 win over Riverside City College in the Saddleback Gymnasium.  The Gauchos bolted out of the gate and led from start to finish.

In a matchup of two teams ranked in the top-15 in the state, Saddleback looked the part of the No. 2 ranking with a dominating performance.  The Gauchos clamped down on defense in the opening half and ran away and hid. 

Saddleback held a 39-20 lead at the intermission as Riverside had a difficult time handling the vicious, in-your-face defense of the Gauchos.  Riverside shot just 28% in the opening 20 minutes while the Gauchos turned to all-everything point guard T.J. Shorts.  The sophomore from Tustin scored 14 in the opening half while Jake Hawes came off the bench for 11.  Shorts also had five assists and three rebounds in the opening half while Hawes buried 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Riverside made a small run in the second half, and after Andy Cleaves made a free throw with 7:37 remaining the lead was 52-39.  The Gauchos quickly responded with seven straight, with Shorts burying a three-pointer with 5:08 remaining on the clock as an exclamation point.

Saddleback cruised the rest of the way, getting plenty of minutes from the bench.  Shorts finished with a game-high 19 points, making 6-of-11 from the field.  Hawes finished with 16 points while Breaon Brady had 11 points and 11 rebounds inside.

Saddleback is now 17-2 overall and 3-0 in Orange Empire Conference play.  The Gauchos will host Cypress College next Wednesday.  Tip time is scheduled for 7:00 PM.