Cats rally for huge road win

The Saddleback men's basketball team picked up a big win on the road on Friday night with a 78-70 victory over Santiago Canyon College in Orange.  The Bobcats had a huge second half in surging past the Hawks.

Saddleback was coming off a disappoint loss on Wednesday and it was unclear how the fellas would respond playing a Santiago Canyon squad ranked No. 18 in the state in the latest California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches Association (CCCMBCA) Poll.  The Bobcats started slowly but kicked it into high gear in the second half in knocking off the second place Hawks.

Saddleback had a rough start, falling behind 11-0 and not scoring for the first 3:46 of the game.  The Bobcats finally got on the board when Jackson Gray nailed a three-pointer to cut the deficit to eight.  It was the beginning of an 8-0 run that quickly got the Bobcats back in the game.

The two teams went to the locker rooms with Santiago Canyon holding a 36-30 lead.  Santiago Canyon increased the lead to 14 in the first 7.5 minutes of the second half and it was starting to look as if Saddleback was going to go away quietly.  That's when the Bobcats started to make a move.

Trailing 56-42, Saddleback held Santiago Canyon to two points over the next 8:24 in surging past the Hawks.  Santiago Canyon couldn't buy a basket, going 1-for-10 from the field with five turnovers as the Bobcats cranked up the defensive pressure.  Meanwhile, Saddleback was scoring in bunches, going on a 24-2 run that would give them a 66-58 lead with just over four minutes remaining. 

Saddleback was red hot at the free throw line over the final 20 minutes, making 15-of-19 from the charity stripe as Santiago Canyon was left trying to foul down the stretch in hopes that Saddleback would miss its free throws.  The Bobcats made 10-of-11 in the final four minutes, thus turning back any attempt at a rally from the Hawks.

James Burries led Saddleback with 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line.  He had company in double-figures, as John McFadden finished with 16 points, Charlie Stallings had 15 points and Gray finished with 11. 

Saddleback is now 12-9 overall and 5-4 in Orange Empire Conference play.  The Bobcats are tied for third place in conference play with Irvine Valley College.  Saddleback is one game back of Santiago Canyon and four games back of Fullerton in the standings.

Saddleback has two home games next week, hosting Golden West on Wednesday (5:00 PM) and Irvine Valley on Friday (5:00 PM).