Bobcats battle through shooting slump for win

The Saddleback men's basketball team rallied for a 60-56 win against Los Angeles Trade Tech College on Monday night inside the gymnasium.  The Bobcats are now 6-2 to start the season.

Saddleback's win on Monday was nothing like the wins earlier in the season.  After starting the season shooting the ball well from long range, the Bobcats suffered through their worst shooting night of the season but still managed to eke out a win thanks to some solid defense and a little help from the opponent. 

Saddleback was ice cold from the beginning, falling behind 8-0 to start the game and not scoring a point over the first 5.5 minutes of the game.  The Bobcats managed to get back into the game with pressure in the defensive end and equally cold shooting from the Beavers.

Saddleback wiggled the lead down to nothing in the final five minutes of the half and took the lead when Selah Robins made a pair of free throws for a 20-19 advantage at the 5:22 mark.  The Bobcats would increase the lead to 27-23 with four straight points from Elijah Al-Debaran before settling for a two-point advantage at the intermission (27-25).

The first half shooting was woeful as both teams were a combined 1-for-27 from three-point range.  What saved the Bobcats was an 8-for-10 performance from the free throw line and a Trade Tech team that committed 13 turnovers. 

The second half saw little difference as at one point the two teams combined to miss their first 10 shots from long range.  Saddleback finally broke the ice when Selah Robins made a shot to give the Bobcats a 43-41 lead with 9:59 remaining in the game.  Nick Bowden buried two more shots from long range later in the half, with the last one giving Saddleback a 55-49 advantage with 5:34 left on the clock. 

Los Angeles Trade Tech would make one more run and closed the gap to two points with 34 seconds on the clock.  Derek Rubidoux would ice the game on a back-door layup with six seconds remaining for the final count of 60-56. 

In total, Los Angeles Trade Tech finished 0-for-12 from three point range while Saddleback was 4-of-30.  The Bobcats won with defense, forcing the Beavers into 26 turnovers.  Saddleback also made 14-of-20 free throws while taking advantage of 25 Trade Tech fouls. 

Jimuel Reyes and Nick Bowden led Saddleback with 13 points apiece while Derek Rubidoux led the squad with 10 rebounds. 

Saddleback is now 6-2 to start the season.  It the best start for the program since 2016-17 when the team started 19-2.  

The Bobcats will have the next two weeks off before traveling to Riverside City College for the RCC Tournament from December 7-10.