TOUGH ROAD LOSS

The No. 3 Hornets took its first loss of 2024 at No. 28 Santiago Canyon College Wednesday night dropping one to the Hawks 69-65.

After riding a 13-game win streak, Fullerton lost a tough Orange Empire Conference game giving the team its first loss in the Orange Empire Conference (11-1). The Santiago Canyon win holds them in second place in the OEC with a record of 9-3.

The first ten minutes of the game was evenly match with both the Hornets and Hawks knocking down their shots. Up 14-13 at the ten-minute mark, Fullerton pushed ahead with a little 7-3 run giving the team some breathing room, however Santiago Canyon pulled within two (24-22) with four minutes left in the half. The Hornets got hot with another run in the final minutes with a 10-2 run giving them a 34-24 lead by the break.

FC grabbed its largest lead of 12 to open up the second half on a jumper by Jeremiah Davis, but the Hawks made their move cutting the deficit down to one (46-45) from a three pointer by Eli Arthurton by 13:55. The Hornets maintained a narrow lead over the Hawks, until the six-minute mark when Kai Smith slashed in for a layup putting his team up 53-52. Fullerton could not wrestle back the lead as Santiago Canyon jumped ahead with its largest lead of eight (65-57) with 40 seconds left on the clock.

It was an off-night shooting from behind the three-point arc for the Hornets, hitting only 1-17 (5.9%), however Fullerton did outshoot SCC 47.3% to 43.1% overall.

Jeremiah Davis was the team scoring leader for Fullerton with 18 points. He also added 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Amound Anderson II scored 14 with 8 rebounds, and RJ Banks put up 12 points. Christian Watson had 9 points and 7 rebounds.

Up Next: The No. 3 Hornets (20-4 overall, 11-1 OEC) will play another road-game this Friday, February 9th at Orange Coast College. Game time is at 6:00 pm. Watch the game live - click here!