Posted: Jan 30, 2013
at Riverside City College Tigers 57, Orange Coast College Pirates 56 (Orange Empire Conf.):
Orange Coast
(11-12, 2-5 OEC)
56
Riverside
(13-10, 6-1 OEC)
57
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orange Coast (11-12, 2-5 OEC) | 26 | 30 | 56 |
|
Riverside (13-10, 6-1 OEC) | 20 | 37 | 57 |
Freshman guard Demitri "Demi" Murray (Riverside / M.L. King, Jr. HS) gave Riverside (13-10, 6-1 OEC) the winning margin on a driving layin with ten seconds remaining. After Orange Coast (11-12, 2-5 OEC) missing a layup with three seconds to go, RCC turned the ball over with 2.1 seconds remaining, but a desperation three-point attempt fell short as the final buzzer sounded.
The Tigers took their first lead at 55-54 on a driving layin by sophomore guard Brianna Garcia (Corona / Centennial HS) with 1:14 left. The Pirates countered with a layin by freshman guard Caitlin Bunting for a short-lived 56-55 lead with 29 ticks to go before Murray came up with her game-winning hoop.
Freshman guard Leilani Chavez (Corona / Corona HS) led a balanced RCC attack with ten points, followed by Murray with nine points. Freshman forward Kayla Johns (Moreno Valley HS) also added nine points, but pulled down a whopping 13 rebounds.
For OCC, Bunting led the Pirates with a game-high 15 points and five assists. Freshman guard Dayanara Armenta chipped in with 13 points and sophomore forward Michelle Angel had only two points, but a team-high nine rebounds.
Riverside will be idle this Friday, Feb. 1, but OCC will host the Saddleback College Gauchos in a 7:30 p.m. OEC tipoff. RCC's next game will be on Wednesday, Feb. 6, against the host Cypress College Chargers in a 7:30 p.m. battle for first place in the conference. Cypress was 6-0 through the first round of OEC play.