Bobcats now alone in second place

The Saddleback men's basketball team won its sixth straight game on Friday with a 71-67 overtime victory over Riverside City College inside the gymnasium.  The Bobcats are now alone in second place in the Orange Empire Conference.

It was just a few weeks ago that Saddleback was buried in the standings and searching for ways to win enough games to qualify for the playoffs later in the month.  Fast forward to now and the Bobcats look like a sure thing to make the playoffs after winning a sixth straight game on Friday.

Saddleback opened with a big advantage, holding Riverside City to only four points over the first 11 minutes in taking a 17-4 lead.  The Tigers quickly responded, scoring 11 of the next 14 points in cutting the lead to five.  The Bobcats would settle for an 8-point advantage at the break after Nick Bowden completed a three-point play for a 31-23 advantage.

Saddleback pushed the lead back to 12 in the opening five minutes of the second half before Riverside City once again made a run.  The Tigers finally broke through and took a lead at the 9:04 mark when Courtland Moffat made a layup for a 46-44 advantage.  The game remained a one-possession game until the 2:05 mark when Elijah Al-Debaran made a jumper to give the Bobcats a 55-51 lead.  RCC would close out regulation with a 4-0 run to tie the game and sent it to overtime.

Saddleback never trailed in overtime, taking the lead at 58-55 when James Burries completed a three-point play.  The Bobcats extended the lead to 61-55 after Al-Debaran made a three-pointer with 3:21 remaining.  The Tigers cut the lead to two points midway through the overtime, but would get no closer as Saddleback made 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch to ice the game.

Burries and Bowden tied for the team lead with 17 points apiece.  Al-Debaran finished with 13 points while Jimuel Reyes had 10.  Burries also led the team with nine rebounds for the game.

Saddleback is now 17-8 overall and 9-4 in Orange Empire Conference play following the win.  The Bobcats are alone in second place, one game in front of Riverside City with three games remaining during the regular season. 

Saddleback will try to make it seven wins in a row when it travels to Orange Coast College on Wednesday.  The Bobcats and Pirates are scheduled to tip off at 6:00 PM in Costa Mesa.  Saddleback defeated Orange Coast, 93-77, in the opening round of conference play on January 11.