Gauchos right the ship against Pirates

The Saddleback men's basketball team bounced back from a loss earlier in the week with a 73-50 win over Orange Coast College on Friday night at the Saddleback Gymnasium.   The Gauchos exploded in the second half after a slow start.

Saddleback looked out of synch in the opening half, shaking off the disappointment from a loss to rival Fullerton on Wednesday.  The Gauchos trailed for much of the half against an Orange Coast program that entered with just seven wins on the season.  Trailing 18-16 late in the half, Saddleback finally found its mojo and closed with a 30-25 half time lead.  The Gauchos finished the half on a 14-7 run as the fouls were adding up on Orange Coast.  Saddleback finished 11-of-15 from the charity stripe in the half as the Pirates were whistled for 17, first-half fouls.

Saddleback got serious in the second half, consistently feeding the ball inside to Breaon Brady while facing a much smaller Pirate lineup.  Brady went to work, scoring 16 second-half points on way to a game-high 20.  After a slow start, Brady finished 6-of-8 from the field and 8-of-13 from the free throw line, collecting nine rebounds. 

Saddleback stretched the lead to as much as 26 in the second half, improving to 20-3 overall and 6-1 in Orange Empire Conference play.  The Gauchos were also greeted with good news in the closing minutes when it was announced in the final moments that Fullerton had lost at Cypress College.

Saddleback will play again on Wednesday when they travel to Irvine Valley College.  The Gauchos and Lasers are scheduled to tip off at 5:00 PM.