BATTLE IN THE NEST

The No.2 in state Hornets had a tough Orange Empire Conference matchup at home Friday night against district-rival Cypress College and got past the Chargers 57-52.

Coming off of a big win against No. 4 Santiago Canyon College on Wednesday, Cypress was hoping to ride its hot hand against Fullerton, but the Hornets proved too much in the end winning its 10th straight game. The FC win gives the team an 18-1 record with an OEC record of 8-0, while the Charger defeat puts them at 12-7 overall and 4-3 in the OEC.

Most knew this game was going to be a battle from the get-go, and it was. From the opening tipoff to the final buzzer, both the Hornets and Chargers went back and forth in a game that featured 14 ties and 10 lead changes. Fullerton was down 18-16 in the final minutes of the first half, but rallied back with a 7-5 tilt to finish the half ahead 23-21.

In the second half, Cypress forged ahead with a 38-30 lead (it's largest of the game) on a layin by Tommie Flanagan at 10:40. FC tied the game up at 41-41 thanks to Ronnie Stapp's drive-thru layup at 6:25. A few shots later, the game was tied 50-50 on a Kobe Newton jumper with just over a minute left in the game. Newton struck again at the 30-second mark nailing a deadly 3-pointer that stunned the Chargers. Hadi Essayli hit a jumper to get within a point of Fullerton 53-52 (17 seconds). With time ticking of the clock, Javon Jones was intentionally fouled and hit both of his free throw attempts putting FC up 55-52. Trent Williams was fouled after a missed jumper by Cypress and put the game away with both successful free throws.

Once again, Ronnie Stapp led all scorers with 17 points. He also had 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Kobe Newton dropped in 13 points and Gaven Ramirez put up 7. Chazz Hutchison and Javon Jones both had 6 points and 7 rebounds each. 

Up Next: Fullerton (18-1 overall, 8-0 OEC) will hit the road on Wednesday, February 2nd when they face off with Golden West College. Game time is at 3:00 pm.

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