HORNETS CONSOLATION CHAMPS IN THE FC CLASSIC

Fullerton took on a talented Citrus squad on Saturday afternoon and got past the Owls 67-64 winning the Consolation Championship in the 35th Fullerton College Classic.

The last time the Owls and Hornets met was during the 2018-19 season. They played twice with Citrus winning the first match-up 74-62 in the 34th FC Classic on November 9th (the tournament was not held 2019-2020) Fullerton returned the favor at the Citrus Invitational on December 1st with a 90-86 victory over the Owls.

It was a lively game where both teams refused to back down. The first half had 4 ties and 8 lead changes. By the 4-minute mark, the game was still very close with FC leading 20-19. It was then the Hornets made their move going on a 9-1 run pushing past the Owls 29-20. Citrus hit a deep three to cut the lead down 29-23 by halftime.

Fullerton was greeted with another three-pointer to open the second half still holding a narrow 29-26 advantage. FC continued to hold a 6-point lead, until they bumped it to 11 on a jumper by Tristan Williams with 4 minutes left in regulation. The game looked as if the Hornets had it in the bag, until a few missed free throws and costly turnovers brought the Owls back to life. Putting on a full court press, Citrus came out like gangbusters getting within two (66-64) with 16 seconds left. After a missed Owl jump shot with 8 second on the clock, Kobe Newman missed a free throw and made the other. The Owls had one shot to toss up to win the game, but unlike Thursday night against LA Southwest, the last second three-point shot shanked off the backboard. 

Kobe Newton and Gaven Ramirez both put up 14 points to lead the Hornets. Ronnie Stapp followed up with 13 points (3-5 three-pointers), and Chazz Hutchison scored 10 in a winning effort.

Tournament Results

In the 7/8 Place Game, West Los Angeles came into the tournament as the No. 5 team in the state, and after suffering two consecutive losses (Sequoias and Fullerton) the Wildcats bounced back with a big 65-54 win over Southwestern.

The 3rd Place Game featured Chaffey and No. 15 L.A. Southwest. The very skilled Cougars suited up six players to beat the Panthers 88-85. LASW's Richard McMichael was 12 of 16 from beyond the three-point arch with a tournament-high 40 points.

In the Championship Game, San Diego City and College of the Sequoias battled it out with the Giants winning it all 83-65.

Up Next: The Hornets (10-1 overall) open Orange Empire Conference-play on Wednesday, December 15th at Santa Ana College (3-7). Tip off is at 6:00 pm.

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