Pirates fight hard, but Tigers prevail
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Riverside (10-13, 4-2) | 41 | 42 | 83 |
|
Orange Coast (7-16, 1-5) | 33 | 36 | 69 |
COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College men's basketball team did not show a fear of heights on Wednesday against the bigger Riverside City College Tigers, but in the end, it would be the visiting RCC on top, winning 83-69 on Wednesday night inside the Peterson Gym.
With the help of several offensive put-backs, the Tigers outscored the Pirates 26-3 on second-chance points and held a 49-21 advantage on the boards. Despite those numbers, the Pirates (7-16, 1-5 in the OEC) battled RCC (10-13, 4-2) hard the entire night.
Coast battled the Tigers to a 23-23 stalemate through the first 12 minutes before Riverside managed to pull ahead with an 11-2 run and carried a 41-33 lead into halftime.
With strong offensive play from Devaun Evans (15 points), Brad Buchignani (14 points), Henry Nguyen (13 points) and Spencer Poston (11 points), the Pirates pulled to within four of the Tigers (56-52) with 10:51 left in the game.
But the Tigers used the size of center Anthony Rounds (20 points, 13 rebounds) and used a 17-6 run over the next five minutes to take control of the game. Other RCC contributors included Robert James (19 points) and Kendall Schmidt (13 points, six rebounds).
The Pirates will return to action on Wednesday at home against Irvine Valley, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
