Bobcats poke back at Cacti

The Saddleback men's basketball team picked up a win on Thursday at the Riverside City College Tournament with a 70-58 victory over Copper Mountain College.  The Bobcats had a big first half in turning back the Fighting Cacti.

Saddleback had a good performance on Wednesday before coming up short against East Los Angeles College, 76-70, on the opening day of the tournament.  The Bobcats didn't let it get the best of them, bouncing back on Thursday against Copper Mountain to improve to 6-4.

Saddleback held a 10-point lead at the intermission behind the hot shooting of Nick Bowden.  The freshman from St. Bernard High School (Playa Del Rey) was red hot, scoring 21 points in the opening 20 minutes.  Bowden made 5-of-7 from three-point range as the Bobcats jumped out to a 43-33 lead at the half.

Saddleback extended the lead to 13 points in the opening minute of the second half when Atiba Taylor drilled a three-pointer for a 46-33 lead.  Unfortunately, the Bobcats would go ice cold over the next three minutes as Copper Mountain would cut the lead to 46-43.

Copper Mountain got as close as one point after Israel Goldsmith made a pair of free throws to cut the Saddleback lead to 52-51 with 11:29 remaining.  From that point forward the Bobcats were dominant, outscoring the Fighting Cacti 18-7.  Jimuel Reyes made a three-pointer to increase the lead to six and 50 seconds later Bowden made another from long range to increase the lead to 61-52 with 8:37 left on the clock.  The Bobcats cruised the rest of the way as the Fighting Cacti couldn't find a rhythm, making just 2-of-7 shots while committing seven turnovers.

Bowden finished with a game-high 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting, making 6-of-10 from long range.  Derek Rubidoux led the Bobcats with 11 rebounds while Elijah Al-Debaran led the Bobcats with four steals. 

Mikah Blackwell led the Fighting Cacti with 23 points in a losing effort.

Saddleback will finish the tournament on Saturday when they play Mt. San Jacinto College.  Game time on Saturday is scheduled for 10:00 AM.