MEN’S BASKETBALL: RISING UP

#12 Fullerton College took on Irvine Valley College in the Hornets Nest on Wednesday night for an Orange Empire Conference game and overwhelmed the Lasers 62-37.

The victory keeps Fullerton on pace for a shot at another Orange Empire Conference title at 6-2 and 17-6 overall. Orange Coast (7-1, 16-7 overall) currently sits in first place, and nearly lost tonight to visiting Cypress (62-60). The IVC defeat keeps them down in the OEC race at 2-5 with an overall record of 13-12.

The Lasers scored the first two points of the game, but their only lead of the game was quickly erased by a three-pointer from FC's Khalil Stevenson. By the 8:04 mark, Fullerton was up 13-5 thanks to a couple of Jason Richardson free throws. The Hornets maintained roughly an eight-point lead throughout the first half, and by halftime they had bumped it up to 27-18.

The Hornets controlled the second half of the game beginning with a 15-2 run that put FC up 33-20 off of a layup by Ronne Readus (16:54). Fullerton took their largest lead of the game (25 points) with two minutes left in regulation and then suffocated the Laser offense for the win.

IVC had a hard time shooting tonight as they were 21.8% from the floor to Fullerton's 44.9%. Only one player for Irvine Valley shot in the double digits (Jake Linsky - 11 points). The Hornets also hit the boards well out-rebounding their opponent 47-28.

FC's Jason Richardson led all scorers with 17 points, while dishing out 6 assists and bringing down 7 rebounds. Khalil Stevenson had a strong night scoring 13 points (including a stunning dunk) with 6 assists and 4 rebounds. Ronne Readus continues to play hard scoring 11 points with 11 rebounds.

Up Next: FC (17-6 overall, 6-2 OEC) will travel to Saddleback College for another OEC rematch this Friday, February 2^nd at 7:00 pm. The last time these two met was a few weeks ago, and the Gauchos got the best of FC by one point at 62-61.

*Photos by Phil Thurman