Bobcats finish strong

The Saddleback men's basketball team finished the regular season with a 74-65 win at Santa Ana College on Friday night in Santa Ana.  The Bobcats now sit and wait in anticipation of a playoff berth.

Saddleback finished the regular season 17-11 and tied for fourth place in the Orange Empire Conference at 9-7.  The Bobcats would seem to have a good chance at qualifying for the CCCAA Southern California Regional Playoffs, which will be announced on Sunday.

Saddleback had a slow start on Friday, trailing 29-28 at the intermission after shooting just 35% from the field with 10 turnovers.  The Bobcats came out of the locker room with a purpose, scoring the first nine points of the second half and never looking back.

Saddleback extended the lead to 13 when Sebastian Zerpa drilled a three-pointer for a 52-39 lead with 12:25 remaining.  It capped off a 24-10 run to start the second half and put the Dons in a big hole down the stretch.

Santa Ana whittled the lead down to four with 3:23 remaining.  The Bobcats quickly responded with a three-pointer from Nick Bowden, thus extending the lead back to seven points.  Saddleback finished off the Dons down the stretch when Gerald Jones III slammed home a dunk for a 74-65 lead with just over a minute remaining.

Saddleback was led by Atiba Taylor, who finished with 26 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field.  Bowden finished with 20 points, making 4-of-7 from downtown.  Taylor and Jones finished with a game-high eight rebounds for the Bobcats.

Saddleback now waits to see if they will earn a spot in the playoffs.  If so, they would likely play on Tuesday night.  An announcement will be made on Sunday.