Oliver era starts with a win

The Saddleback men's basketball team opened the season with a 55-46 win against Southwestern College on Tuesday night inside the Saddleback gymnasium.  Atiba Taylor scored 14 points as the Jeff Oliver era opened the season with a win.

The opening half saw the defenses take over, as neither team could get a lot going in the offensive end.  Saddleback opened with a 5-0 lead after Elijah Al-Debaran buried a three-pointer with 17:49 remaining in the opening half. 

The Bobcats defense held the Jaguars scoreless over the first five minutes before Southwestern finally started to find some rhythm.  The Jaguars battled back and took an 11-8 lead after Jaymaree Norton connected on a three-pointer with 12:25 remaining in the half.  The streak would be short-lived, however, as Southwestern scored just four points over the next seven minutes and couldn't find the bottom of the net.

Saddleback took its biggest lead of the half at 23-17 when Nick Bowden drilled a three-pointer with 2:27 on the clock.  The Bobcats returned the favor and went ice cold, as Southwestern finished on a 7-0 run and led 24-23 at the break.

Saddleback opened the second half digging in defensively.  The Bobcats held Southwestern to only one point over the first couple of minutes in taking a 32-25 lead.  Southwestern would never again see the right end of the scoreboard as Jimuel Reyes gave the Bobcats a 35-27 lead with a three-pointer at the 17:10 mark.

Saddleback had its biggest lead of the game at 13 after Taylor (pictured) made a jumper for a 42-29 lead with 12:54 remaining in the game.  The Bobcats had it on cruise control from that point forward as Southwestern never got closer than six the rest of the game.

Taylor finished with a team-high 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field while Bowden chipped in with nine points.  Saddleback's defense held the Jaguars to 35% shooting for the night while outrebounding the Jaguars 31-25.  Norton finished with a team-high 13 points for Southwestern.

Saddleback will play in the Alvin Hunter Classic at San Bernardino Valley College this weekend.  The Bobcats open the tournament against host San Bernardino Valley on Friday night at 7:00 PM.