Bobcats spread around holiday cheer

The Saddleback men's basketball team celebrated the holidays early with a 93-68 win over Golden West College on Thursday night inside the Saddleback gymnasium.  The Bobcats had five players in double-figures.

Saddleback responded from a loss on Tuesday to start Orange Empire Conference play with a win on Thursday.  The Bobcats never trailed in the game, opening up a 32 point lead at one point during the second half.

Saddleback started on a 10-2 run to open the game.  The Bobcats then had a 3:15 span where they held the Rustlers scoreless as the lead expanded to 27-11 with just under nine minutes remaining in the half.  Saddleback finished the half on a 5-0 run when Bobby Thompson came off the bench to bury a three-pointer and Elijah Al-Debaran made a steal and layup to end the half up 47-30.

The second half saw more of the same as Saddleback made good on 7-of-17 shots from beyond the arc.  Nick Bowden buried a shot from long range as the lead grew to 78-47 with 9:23 remaining.  He made another with 2:18 remaining as the Bobcats held an 87-60 lead in the final minutes. 

Saddleback finished with five players in double-figures.  Al-Debaran led the Bobcats with 18 points while Jimuel Reyes had 14, Bowden 13, Gerald Jones III 12 and Thompson 11. 

Saddleback is now 9-5 overall and 1-1 in Orange Empire Conference play.  The Bobcats will be back in action after the holidays on January 4 when they host Irvine Valley College.  The Bobcats and Lasers are scheduled to tip off at 5:00 PM.