Strong second half lifts Pirates to win over Chargers
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cypress (9-12, 2-4) | 27 | 26 | 53 |
|
Orange Coast (5-13, 3-3) | 23 | 40 | 63 |
COSTA MESA -- The points were easier to come by in the second half for the Orange Coast College men's basketball team during Wednesday night's 63-53 Orange Empire Conference win over visiting Cypress.
After trailing by four in the first half, 27-23, the Pirates (5-13, 3-3 in the OEC) came alive and hit 14-of-24 from the field (58.3 percent) and outscored the Chargers 40-26 over the final 20 minutes.
The starting five of Deion Page (14 points, six rebounds), DeAndre Page (13 points), Brad Buchignani (11 points), Henry Nguyen (eight points) and Davasyia Hagger (seven points) combined for 53 of the Pirates' 63 points.
For the Chargers (9-12, 2-4), Jarred Cook led the way with 14 points, while Jeremy Wright added 10 and Jordan Fleck tossed in nine.
Coast turned things around early in the second half, using a 11-6 run over the first five minutes to grab a 34-33 advantage. A pair of 3-pointers from Buchignani, the second coming from just inside the parking lot, put Coast ahead for the first time in the game.
That lead never changed hands the rest of the way as the Pirate defense made key stops down the stretch, holding the Chargers to just 9-of-25 from the floor (36%) in the second half.
Buchignani scored all 11 of his points in the second half, while Deion Page scored 12 of his 14 in the final 20 minutes.
Deion and DeAndre Page combined for 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor to account for OCC's hot shooting down the stretch.
The Pirates will return to action on Friday at Irvine Valley College, beginning at 5 p.m. to open up the second half of OEC play. OCC will return to the Peterson Gym on Wednesday against Fullerton, also at 5 p.m.
