Bobcats start 2-0

The Saddleback men's basketball team improved to 2-0 on the season with a 73-55 win against Ventura College at the "We Play Hard Tournament" in Ventura.  James Burries scored 26 points as the Bobcats led wire-to-wire.

Burries was a machine for a second straight night, finishing 10-for-17 from the field.  He received a little help from his friends as well as Andre Speight came off the bench and finished with 20 points while John McFadden chipped in 12 points.  The trio was part of an offense that shot 49% for the night.  Hayden Fletcher helped out with eight points, five rebounds and two assists.

Saddleback never trailed in the game and opened up a 42-30 lead at the half after outrebounding the Pirates 14-9 in the opening 20 minutes.  Burries was 7-of-10 in the opening frame while the offense committed only four turnovers while shooting 55% from the field.

Saddleback started slowly in the second half, failing to score for the first 4:38 while the lead was whittled to seven at 42-35.  The defense bailed out the offense in the second half, holding Ventura scoreless at one point for over 4.5 minutes while building the lead up to 16 points with under eight minutes remaining.

Saddleback is now 2-0 to start the season.  The Bobcats will play San Bernardino Valley College on Saturday at 10:00 AM.