Pirates' struggles continue in loss to Irvine Valley
COSTA MESA -- In a game dominated by fouls and free throws, the Orange Coast College men's basketball found the free-throw line anything but free in Wednesday night's 69-54 loss to visiting Irvine Valley.
OCC (10-14, 1-8 in Orange Empire Conference) forced 24 turnovers and was sent to the charity stripe a season-high 40 times, but the Pirates managed to hit just 26 from the line, while the Lasers (13-10, 5-4) were a solid 19-of-24 from the stripe.
The abundant number of free-throw points helped even out a cold shooting night for the hosts, who hit just 2-of-15 from 3-point range and 13-of-39 from the field.
Marquis Ranson was the Pirates' lone hot hand, hitting 7-of-10 from the floor and 9-of-12 from the free-throw line for a game high 23 points and six rebounds. Jordan Pellum added 11 points in the loss.
For the Lasers, Michael Bolden led all scorers with 23 points and seven rebounds, while Zach Ellis added 17 points and seven boards.
An 11-point halftime lead for the Lasers grew to as many as 18 early in the second half before the Pirates began to chip away into the deficit.
Coast got to within seven at 55-48 with 4:30 remaining in the game, but the Lasers clamped down and would not allow the Pirates to get any closer.
The Pirates will return to action on Friday at Santa Ana College, beginning at 5:30 p.m. OCC's next home game will be on Wednesday, Feb. 20 against Cypress, also at 5:30 p.m.
