Ahoy! Reyes nets 33 in opener against Pirates

The Saddleback men's basketball team opened the season with a 77-64 win against Ventura College on Thursday night in Ventura.  Jimuel Reyes scored 33 points to lead the Bobcats to a win on opening night.

Saddleback entered the season at No. 17 in Southern California in the California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches Association (CCCMBCA) Poll and Ventura was No. 13.  The Bobcats never trailed in the game in opening the season with a win over the Pirates.

Reyes opened the scoring with a 3-pointer in the opening minute as Saddleback jumped out to an early lead.  The Bobcats would build the lead to 15 in the closing minute of the half, taking a 34-19 lead into the locker room.  Reyes led the first half scoring with 12 points while Derek Rubidoux had a game-high seven rebounds at the break.

Saddleback quickly added to the lead in the second half when Nick Bowden buried a three-pointer for a 37-19 lead on the opening possession.  James Burries later made a jumper with 18:52 remaining and the Bobcats were off and running with a 22-point advantage. 

Ventura chipped away at the lead as Saddleback ran into some foul trouble.  The Pirates cut the lead to 12 at 54-42 with 8:36 remaining when Marcus Watson nailed a 3-pointer.  The Bobcats quickly answered, rattling off eight straight points as the lead grew back to 20.  Reyes silenced the partisan crowd with a 3-pointer at the 7:38 mark for a 62-42 lead.

Saddleback spent a lot of time at the free throw line in the second half and made the Pirates pay.  The Bobcats made 17-of-21 free throws for the game, with Bowden making 8-of-9. 

Ventura made one more run to cut the lead to 14 with 4:13 remaining.  The Bobcats responded with back-to-back 3-pointers from Reyes, thus putting the game on ice.  Reyes finished with a game-high 33 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field, making 6-of-11 from long range. 

Bowden added 16 points while tying Rubidoux for the team-leading five assists.  Rubidoux finished with a game-high 12 rebounds.   

The Bobcats will play Los Angeles Trade Tech on Friday in the Ventura College "We Play Hard" Tournament.  The game is scheduled to tip off at 2:00 PM.