Bobcats turn the tables on Pirates

The Saddleback men's basketball team ended a two-game losing streak with a 93-77 victory over Orange Coast College on Wednesday night inside the gymnasium.    The Bobcats rallied past the Pirates to improve to .500 in Orange Empire Conference play.

Saddleback was coming off a two-game losing streak and many wondered how they would respond.  The Bobcats started slowly but found their stride in the second half in breezing past the Pirates.

Saddleback was ice cold to start as Orange Coast sprinted out to a 12 point lead with seven minutes remaining in the opening half.  The Bobcats completely turned the tables by halftime, outscoring the Pirates 23-10 over the final seven minutes for a 44-43 lead at the intermission.

Saddleback took the lead for good to start the second half when Nick Bowden nailed a three-pointer with 19:09 remaining for a 47-45 advantage.  On the very next possession Bowden drilled another as the Bobcats were off and running. 

Saddleback took advantage of cold shooting for Orange Coast in the second half as the Pirates scored just one point over the first 3.5 minutes of the half.  OCC finally found its stride and whittled the lead down to one with 14:24 remaining. 

Saddleback then went on a run, outscoring Orange Coast 15-5 to grab a 69-58 lead with 9:23 remaining.  The lead swelled to 18 in the final minutes as Orange Coast got in some foul trouble and repeatedly sent the Bobcats to the free throw line.

Bowden and James Burries led Saddleback with 21 points apiece.  Bowden made 5-of-9 shots from long range while Burries was 8-of-10 from the field.  Burries also led the Bobcats with nine rebounds for the night.  Gerald Jones III had a solid night inside, finishing with 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots against the much smaller OCC lineup.  Saddleback finished with six players in double-figures.

Saddleback improved to 11-7 overall and 3-3 in Orange Empire Conference play with the win.  The Bobcats will host first place Fullerton College on Friday night inside the gymnasium.  Saddleback and Fullerton are scheduled to tip off at 5:00 PM.