Tough second half ends season

The Saddleback men's basketball season came to a close on Wednesday after a 79-61 loss at Cerritos College in Norwalk.  The Bobcats led at the half before Cerritos got hot and took control of the game.

Saddleback was seeded No. 22 for the 3C2A Southern California Regional Tournament while Cerritos was seeded No. 11, so the Bobcats entered the game as decisive underdogs on paper heading into Wednesday night's contest.  Saddleback made it look as if the experts were all wrong for a half as they carried a 34-32 lead into the locker rooms into the intermission.

Cerritos quickly took control in the second half, taking the lead on the opening possession when Blake Brewer made a three-pointer to give the Falcons a 35-34 advantage.  Unfortunately, Saddleback would never get even again as Cerritos shot the lights out in the second half of play.

Cerritos continuously stretched the lead throughout the second half, making 7-of-11 shots from beyond the arc and shooting 58% from the field over the final 20 minutes.  Saddleback closed the gap to two at 45-43 after Xerian Anderson made a pair of layups, with the final one coming with 15:43 remaining.  Unfortunately, Saddleback would go the next 3:10 without scoring a point as Cerritos built the lead to 52-43. 

Saddleback did its best to hang around as Ryan Huston made a three-pointer and David Mitchell a pair of jumpers to get back within five points (55-50) with 10:30 remaining in the game.  The Bobcats then went another 2.5 minutes without scoring in what would be the final blow to their chances as the Falcons built the lead to 13 points.  Cerritos would ultimately stretch the lead to as much as 19 in the final minutes.

Mitchell finished as the team leader with 12 points in the game.  Anderson, T.J. Tittelfitz and Michael Bichel all finished with 11 points apiece. 

Saddleback finishes the season 12-18 overall while Cerritos will advance to the next round of the playoffs at San Diego City College on Saturday.