Late rally by Hornets leaves Pirates short
FULLERTON -- A late second-half rally from Fullerton College spoiled a solid effort by the Orange Coast College men's basketball team as the Hornets defeated the visiting Pirates, 76-73 on Friday night.
OCC (10-11, 1-5 in Orange Empire Conference) led 70-62 with just over five minutes remaining before the Hornets (11-10, 3-3) closed the game out with a 14-3 run.
A 10-0 run by Fullerton -- highlighted by eight points by Julian Caldwell -- gave the Hornets a 72-70 lead with 2:58 remaining.
Jordan Pellum -- who led the Pirates with 17 points -- got the Pirates back to within three points (76-73) with 35 seconds left and after a Hornet turnover, Coast had an opportunity to send the game into overtime.
However, a pair of OCC 3-point opportunities in the final seconds missed their intended marks, giving the Hornets the comeback win.
Jo Jo Trinidad added 16 points for the Pirates, while Marquis Ransom tossed in nine.
Rufus Jemison led the Hornets with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Caldwell and Tyler Payne each added 15 points.
The Pirates will return to action on Friday at home for Coaches vs. Cancer Night against Saddleback at 5:30 p.m. All proceeds from Friday's game will go the American Cancer Soceity as they continue their ongoing fight against this dreaded disease.
