HORNETS STEP UP FOR BIG GAME
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Santiago Canyon (17-4, 7-3) | 29 | 47 | 76 |
|
FULL (19-1, 9-0) | 43 | 40 | 83 |
The No. 2 in state Fullerton College men's basketball team had a big test on Wednesday night hosting No. 5 Santiago Canyon College to see who would own a better shot at 2022 Orange Empire Conference title. FC did not let the Hornet faithful down locking in on a 80-74 win.
Due to COVID-19 protocol, the Hornets had been idle since their Jan 28th home-win over Cypress (57-52), and there was very little rust to break off shooting 47.7% from the floor. Fullerton played well enough to earn the needed victory giving the team a 19-1 overall record with an undefeated record of 9-0 in the OEC. The Santiago Canyon defeat puts the Hawks at 17-4 overall and 7-3 in the OEC.
The game was a hard-fought war that had 12 lead changes and 8 ties, but the Hornet bench proved to be the difference out-scoring the Hawks 27-11.
Fullerton busted out with a quick 5-point lead to open the game. By 13:02, the Hawks snuck in a 10-9 lead on a pair of free throws by David Agba. The Hornets took the lkead back by 6:48 on a Tristan Williams layin. Fullerton rode out the most of the half with a narrow lead, but a Gaven Ramirez's 3-pointer and layup put the Hornets in charge at 43-29 by halftime.
During the second half, the Fullerton lead dwindled down to two (60-58) thanks to Drew Yezbek's 3-pointer. By 7:46, SCC snagged the lead at 61-60 on a pair of free throws by Yezbak. A shooting slugfest was on for the four minutes, until Tristan Williams hit a shallow jumper putting FC up 77-75 with just under three minutes left in the game. From there, the Hornet defense kept the Hawks off balance and never game up the lead. Free throws by Kobe Newton and Javon Jones guaranteed the win for Fullerton.
Tristan Williams had a great night for FC scoring a team-high 17 points with 6 rebounds. Ronnie Stapp dropped in 13 points, had 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Gaven Ramirez and Kobe Newton (7 assists) scored 10 points each. Chazz Hutchison (10 rebounds) and Ryan Blackmon (2-4 from beyond the arc) both scored 8 points.
Up Next: The Hornets (19-1 overall, 9-0 OEC) travel south to Orange Coast College this Friday, February 11 for another OEC game. Tipoff is at 5:00 pm.
