Bobcats remain hot

The Saddleback men's basketball team won its fifth straight game on Wednesday with an 87-77 victory over Cypress College inside the Saddleback Gymnasium.  The Bobcats remain in a tie for second place in the Orange Empire Conference with four games remaining.

It wasn't that long ago that Saddleback was under .500 in conference play and buried in the standings behind a number of teams.  Now there is just one team in front of them after beating Cypress on Wednesday to remain in a tie for second place with Riverside City College.

Saddleback and Cypress played even through the first five minutes before Saddleback made a run to take a lead it would never relinquish.  Saddleback went on a 10-2 run to take a 24-13 lead and Cypress never recovered.  The Bobcats would eventually increase the lead to 22 with 9:47 remaining in the game before coasting across the finish line with a comfortable win.

James Burries had a big night for Saddleback, leading all scorers in the game with 26 points.  Burries was 8-of-13 from the field, 3-of-6 from long range and made 7-of-9 free throws as the Chargers had no answers on defense.  In total, Saddleback shot 53.8% from the field and made 21 free throws to ice the game.

Saddleback had three others in double-figures as Elijah Al-Debaran finished with 17, Jimuel Reyes 13 and Selah Robins 12.  Burries was also a workhorse in the defensive end, recording six rebounds and three steals.

Saddleback is now 16-8 overall and 8-4 in Orange Empire Conference play.  The Bobcats will host Riverside City College on Friday night, with second place on the line.  Tip time is scheduled for 5:00 PM inside the gymnasium.