Bench play leads to 11th straight win

The Saddleback winning streak hit 11 games on Friday night when the Gauchos went on the road and defeated Orange Coast College, 66-59.   The bench played a big role in the victory as Saddleback pulled out another close win to stay in first place in the Orange Empire Conference.

The mark of a good team is often not the guys that start the game, but those that come off the bench to contribute.  Such was the case on Friday night when the starters couldn't find the range and the reserves were called upon to play a big role in the win. 

The Saddleback starters shot just 29% from the field (8-of-18) at OCC on Friday while the guys coming off the bench were on fire.  Casey Oldemoppen finished a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, leading the Gaucho attack with 14 points on the night.  In total, the reserves made 12-of-21 shots in relief (57%), allowing Saddleback to run its winning streak to 11 games.

Saddleback took a sizeable lead into the locker rooms at the half, leading 34-23 at the intermission.  Much like the previous game, however, the Gauchos were unable to find their range in the second half, allowing the opponent to hang around.  Orange Coast eventually took the lead as the Gauchos went six minutes without a basket during the second half.  The Pirates took the lead with 5:55 remaining and would hold on to the lead until the final two minutes.   Chris Nelson's layup with 1:43 left on the clock gave Orange Coast a 59-58 lead, but it would be the last time the Pirates would score. 

Saddleback would get three offensive rebounds down the stretch and win the game at the free throw line as Orange Coast was 0-for-3 from the field in the closing minutes.  Darnell Taylor and Carlton Hayes both made two free throws in the final 28 seconds as the Gauchos held off an Orange Coast team looking for an upset.

For Saddleback, it was the 11^th straight win dating back to December 20.  It is the longest winning streak for the Gauchos since winning 16 straight games in 2008-09.

Saddleback now leads the Orange Empire Conference by 1.5 games as second place Riverside had a bye on Friday night.  The Gauchos will have a bye on Wednesday before playing again next Friday at Cypress College.  Tip time is set for 5:30 pm.