GETTING BACK INTO IT

After a 21-day break due to COVID-19, the No. 3 Hornets got back on the court for a conference home-game with Orange Coast College earning a 80-70 win over the Pirates.

There was some rust that needed to break off and it showed in the first half as Fullerton trailed 29-20 (8th minute) to an OCC squad that fielded just six players. Orange Coast pushed its lead to 31-22 by the 5-minute mark on a shot by Cody Aquino, but Fullerton cut down the Pirate lead by halftime 37-34 that was capped off by a 3-pointer by Collin Reed. Fullerton struggled from the floor shooting 41.1% to OCC's 54.5%. The Pirates were hot from beyond the arc hitting 7 out of 11 attempts.

The second half was a different story as the Hornets took back the lead within a minute and a half (38-37) on a layup by Chazz Hutchinson. After breaking up a 40-40 tie on another Hutchinson layup, FC never gave up the lead again grabbing its largest lead of 14 with 5 minutes left in regulation. The Hornet defense put out the fire on OCC's 3-point shots holding the Pirates to 35.3% in the second half. Fullerton also improved its shooting knocking down 57.6% of its shots. It was the points in the paint that made the difference as the Hornets took advantage of OCC's size and depth outscoring the Pirates 42-22.

Big man Chazz Hutchison had a career night as a Hornet scoring 31 points with 13 rebounds for a double-double. Gaven Ramirez dropped in 15 points, while Ronnie Stapp put up 13. Ryan Blackmon scored 10 points with 6 assists, while Tristan Williams neared a triple-doube scoring 8 points, with 10 rebounds and 8 assists.

Up Next: The Hornets (13-1, 3-0) travel to  No. 17 Riverside City College for another Orange Empire Conference game on Wednesday, January 19th. Tip off is at 5:00 PM.

*Photo by Matt Brown

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