Gauchos cruise past Pirates in OEC home-opener

Saddleback improved to 2-0 in Orange Empire Conference play with a 72-42 win over Orange Coast College on Wednesday night at the Saddleback Gymnasium.  The Gauchos finished the first half on a 23-5 run en route to its second largest margin of victory for the season.

Saddleback was red hot from the field in the second half as the Gauchos shot 53% from the field in the second 20 minutes, making 5-of-12 from three-point range.  McKay LaSalle and D.J. Feitl were red hot from the outside, combining for 8-of-15 from beyond the arc for the night.

LaSalle (pictured) finished with a team-high 16 points while Feitl finished with 12, making a flurry of shots from downtown down the stretch.  Saddleback also held a 44-30 advantage on the boards as Carlton Hayes and Alex Worthen-Harris both finished with a team-high of six. 

As impressive as the Gauchos were on offense, they were equally impressive on defense.  Orange Coast shot just 16% in the first half, making only 4-of-25 shots.  Saddleback forced Orange Coast into 17 turnovers while blocking eight Pirate shots for the game.

Saddleback improved to 15-4 on the season and 2-0 in Orange Empire Conference play with the win.  The Gauchos will have the rest of the week off before hosting Cypress College next Wednesday night.  Tip time is set for 7:30 PM.

Orange Coast fell to 9-8, 0-2 with the loss.