Cats off to 2-0 start

The Saddleback men's basketball team won its second straight game to start the season with a 71-60 victory over Los Angeles Trade Tech on Friday at the "We Play Hard" Tournament at Ventura College.  The Bobcats will face Pasadena City College to close out the tournament on Saturday.

Saddleback jumped out to a 33-27 halftime lead as Nick Bowden scored 10 first-half points to lead the squad.  The Bobcats saw the lead slip away as they trailed for the first time this season at 41-35 with just under 17 minutes remaining.  Saddleback then kicked things into gear, outscoring the Beavers 36-19 the rest of the way.

Saddleback started to heat up from beyond the arc as Jimuel Reyes made a three-pointer with 14:11 remaining to put the Bobcats back in front at 42-41.  He then buried another less than a minute later for a four-point lead and Saddleback was off and running.  Reyes would score 16 points in the second half, making 4-of-7 from downtown.  He finished with a game-high 21 points for the day.

Saddleback continued its hot shooting from the free throw line.  The Bobcats made 16-of-17 for the day and now have made 33-of-38 to start the season.  The Bobcats also forced 21 turnovers from the Beavers in the defensive end and have held opponents to 25.6% shooting from three-point range through two games.

Saddleback will face Pasadena City College on Saturday at 10:00 AM.  The Lancers are 0-2 to start the season.