Top-seeded Fullerton rolls to next round of SoCal Regionals
CCCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Southern California Regional
#2 EC-Compton Center 96, #18 Ventura 80
#14/13 Antelope Valley 79, #3 Saddleback 67
#1 Fullerton 96, #17 Barstow 65
#13/14 Riverside 68, #4 San Bernardino 59
Northern California Regional
#3 Yuba 96, #14 Merced 89
#13 American River 66, #4 Fresno 64
#2 Feather River 114, #15 Sierra 76
#1 San Francisco 65, #17 Cabrillo 61
Updated Brackets (through Feb. 25)
State | NorCal | SoCal
FULLERTON, Calif. - In the semi-finals of the SoCal Regionals, the #1 Fullerton College men's basketball team hosted #17 Barstow College on Saturday night and ended the Vikings season 96-65.
In the first round last Wednesday, Barstow throttled #16 Miramar College last Wednesday night 83-68 advancing them to tonight's quarterfinal game against the Hornets.
Cutting through the Viking's full court press like a hot knife through butter, Fullerton did not waste any time jumping ahead early to take a 26-8 lead at 12:49 on an Ian Fox three-pointer.
By the end of the half, the Hornets had a healthy 47-26 lead thanks to some sharp shooting from beyond the arc. At one point in the first half, Fullerton was 5-6 from three-point land and shot 52.9% from the field.
FC did not let up in the second half maintaining their healthy lead over the Vikings with some strong defense and smooth ball handling. Barstow never abandoned their full court press, but the disciplined Fullerton squad had no problem breaking through for a few easy buckets. The Hornets imposed their largest lead of the game of 37 points (88-51) with just over five minutes left to play.
Fullerton's shooting got even hotter in the second half hitting 60.7% of their shots. For the game, FC shot 56.5% to Barstow's 34.8%. From beyond the arc, FC was 13 out of 29 with Ian Fox hitting 6 of 15.
Kenny Barnes had a strong performance tonight scoring a game-high 26 points for the Hornets. He also had 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Ian Fox put up 24 points with 8 rebounds and 3 steals. Kendall Lauderdale dropped in 14 points and brought down 4 rebounds. Dillon Reise had 11 points and Nick Anderson had 8 points. Anderson was in the mood to share as he delivered 13 assists and also had 7 rebounds.
Up Next: The Southern California Regional Finals - The Hornets (22-6 overall) will play Chaffey College (23-8 overall) on Saturday, March 4th at 7:00 pm. Last Friday, Chaffey got past Bakersfield 75-73 in overtime to advance to the SoCal Finals with FC. The winner of this one goes to the State Tournament with three other teams from the south where they will compete with four of the top teams from the north.
(Courtesy Fullerton College Athletics)
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MARAUDERS STUN #3 SADDLEBACK, 79-67, ON THE ROAD
MISSION VIEJO, Calif. - How sweet it is.
And how fitting that the Marauder men's basketball team will face Citrus in the third round of the state playoffs with a convincing victory against Saddleback College, 79-67, Saturday night, avenging a loss to the Gauchos earlier this season.
"The guys played really well. I saw glimpses of this team over the course of the season," AVC head coach John Taylor said. "We turned the corner and I hope we have a few more games left in us."
The Marauders were led by Cory Dollarhide, who has struggled shooting the ball in recent games, but was on fire finishing with 19 points and was 5-of-5 from 3-point range. D'Mauria Jones finished with 16 points and Jailen Gill and Reggie Byers each added 12.
Jones was also a factor as he finished with five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Gill also had nine rebounds.
"I just prepared myself for the game. I wanted to win this game so bad like no other," Dollarhide said. "We executed and got it done. From the start of the game we pressed. We wanted to speed up the game to make them uncomfortable. We got them out of what they wanted to do. I think it's very pleasing. It's a big win for us, but from our expectations the job is not finished."
AVC was 30-of 43 from the field, including 7-of-8 from behind the arc.
"Saddleback is one of the best half court teams in the state and we got them to play our game which is up tempo," Taylor said. "The guys just figured out, lose and you go home. We were 30-of-43 from the field so every shot was a good shot."
The Marauders will travel to Citrus College next Saturday night in an Elite Eight matchup. The Owls defeated the Marauders twice this season and historically AVC has had a tough time playing at Citrus College since joining the Western State Conference.
(Courtesy Antelope Valley Athletics)