Pirates push Gauchos to limit before falling late
COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College men's basketball had Southern California's top-ranked team on the ropes and wobbly, but down the stretch, the Pirates couldn't deliver the knockout blow.
Leading 59-58, with 1:43 remaining in the game, the Pirates were in position for a huge upset, but in the end, the visiting Gauchos showed why they are residing atop the Orange Empire Conference standings and pulled out a 66-59 win over Coast on Friday night on Coaches vs. Cancer Night.
In that final 1:43, OCC (10-13, 1-7 in the OEC) went 0-for-3 from the floor and had a costly turnover, while the Gauchos (21-4, 8-0) hit 6-of-8 from the free-throw line and used a pair of key offensive rebounds off of those two missed FTs to keep the ball away from the Pirates down the stretch.
Despite the tough loss, it was another hard-fought battle for the undersized Pirates, who forced the Gauchos into shooting just 40.8 percent from the floor (20-of-49) and just 5-of-19 from 3-point range.
Only one Saddleback player reached double figures in scoring and that came from reserve center Casey Oldemoppen, who hit all seven of his shots for a team-best 14 points. McKay LaSalle and Carlton Hayes each added nine points for the Gauchos, while Darnell Taylor added eight.
Marquis Ransom, who saw limited action due to constant foul trouble throughout the game, led Coast with 15 points in just 13 minutes of action. Jordan Pellum added 12, while Spencer Poston and Robert Grepo each tossed in eight.
Coast trailed 34-23 at the half and still trailed by 10 (43-33) with just under 16 minutes left in the game before the Pirates found some offensive success. Over the next 10 minutes, Coast outscored the Gauchos 19-9 to tie the game at 52.
Both teams traded leads over the next four minutes and a Pellum layup with 1:43 left gave Coast its final lead of the night before the Gauchos took over down the stretch.
OCC will return to action on Wednesday at home against Irvine Valley, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
