Gauchos soar past Eagles into regional finals

The Saddleback men's basketball team advanced to the regional finals on Wednesday with a 99-75 win over Mt. San Jacinto College at the Saddleback Gymnasium.  The Gauchos had a big night from center Conor Clifford and will host San Bernardino Valley College in the regionals finals on Saturday night.

Saddleback came out red hot and despite not getting a lot of calls ran away from a Mt. San Jacinto team that had no answers for the Gaucho attack.  Saddleback was dominant both inside and outside, and no matter what MSJC could muster the Gauchos had an answer for everything.

Saddleback battled through foul troubles for most of the night but it didn't seem to matter.  The Eagles couldn't stop Clifford from the inside and had no answer for Andrew Bournes and Josh Mishler from the outside.  Clifford finished with a game-high 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting while Bournes had 19, Collin Host 17 and Mishler 15. 

Saddleback finished the game 9-for-14 from three-point range with Bournes making 3-of-6 and Mishler making all three attempts.  When those two weren't making them, Host, Baker and Maleke Haynes were. 

Saddleback also attacked the basket in the second half after the officials blew just four fouls on the Eagles in the opening half.  The Gauchos were sensational at breaking the Eagle press, getting a lot of layups and shooting 20 free throws in the final 20 minutes. 

With the win, Saddleback improved to 30-2 on the season and combined with a loss by top-seeded Mt. San Antonio College becomes the No. 1 seed in Southern California.  It was the fourth time in school history that Saddleback has won 30 or more games.  It is the most wins by a Saddleback team since the Gauchos went 33-4 in 2001-02 in winning the state championship.

Saddleback will host San Bernardino Valley College on Saturday night in the regional finals with the winner advancing to the state tournament next Friday.  Tip time on Saturday night is set for 7:00 PM.