Bobcats down Lasers in OT

The Saddleback men's basketball team returned from the holiday break and opened the new year with a 75-72 overtime win against inter-district rival Irvine Valley College on Wednesday night inside the gymnasium.  The Bobcats moved into a tie for second place in the Orange Empire Conference with the win.

Saddleback was a bit sluggish in the first half as Irvine Valley shot the ball well in taking the lead.  The Lasers had a 10 point lead in the final minutes before Saddleback closed the half on a 10-4 run to trail 36-32 at the break.

Irvine Valley increased the lead to 43-37 in the first three minutes of the second half before Saddleback decided to dig in defensively.  The Lasers went nearly three minutes without scoring as the Bobcats took a lead with 14:47 remaining when Elijah Al-Debaran made a layup.  Saddleback kept up the pressure, allowing just two points over the next 1:50 in taking a five-point lead. 

Saddleback would increase the lead to 61-53 with just over four minutes remaining when James Burries made a layup for the biggest lead of the game for the Bobcats.  Irvine Valley wouldn't go away, scoring 10 straight points to take a 63-61 lead with under 10 seconds remaining in the game. 

Following a timeout, Saddleback dribbled the ball down the court and found Burries open under the net for a game-tying bucket with under three seconds remaining.  The Lasers had one more decent look in the final seconds of regulation, but the shot was off the mark as the game went to overtime. 

Saddleback controlled play to start the overtime, outscoring the Lasers 5-0 in the opening two minutes.  The lead remained at five before IVC cut the lead to 70-69 with just 1:24 remaining.  The Bobcats looked as if it had iced the game in the final 20 seconds when Jimuel Reyes completed a three-point play for a 73-69 lead.  IVC wasn't finished as Charlie Henderson buried a three-pointer to cut the lead to 73-72 with six seconds remaining.

Saddleback went to the free throw line with three seconds remaining and Al-Deberan made both attempts for a 75-72 lead.  The Lasers had one more shot in the final seconds, but it went off the mark as Saddleback celebrated the hard-fought win.

Al-Debaran (pictured) finished with a team-high 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field.  He also led the team on defense with five steals for the game.  Burries followed closely with 19 points for the Bobcats. 

Saddleback is now 10-5 overall and 2-1 in Orange Empire Conference (OEC) play.  The Bobcats are in a three-way tie for second place in the OEC, a game back of Fullerton College.  Saddleback will look to keep pace on Friday when they travel to Cypress College to take on the Chargers.  Game time is scheduled for 5:00 PM.