Pirates fall hard to Gauchos
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orange Coast (8-15, 6-5 in OEC) | 32 | 37 | 69 |
|
Saddleback (28-2, 11-1 OEC) | 53 | 39 | 92 |
MISSION VIEJO -- The Orange Coast College men's basketball team tried to sneak into Saddleback's gym and escape with an upset win, but the Gauchos were having none of that as they topped the Pirates, 92-69, on Wednesday night.
Coast (8-15, 6-5 in Orange Empire Conference) -- winners of three straight and four-of-five heading into Wednesday's matchup, fell behind 53-32 and never recovered.
With the win, the Gauchos (28-2, 11-1) clinched the outright OEC title and were led by Connor Clifford (18 points, seven rebounds), Andrew Boumes (17 points) and Maleke Haynes (14 points, five assists).
Saddleback shot an incredible 75% from the floor in the first half (21-of-28) and finished a red-hot 68.6% (35-of-51) for the game.
Deion Page led the Pirates with 15 points and five rebounds, while Henry Nguyen added 13, Brad Buchignani chipped in 11 and Davasyia Hagger tossed in 10.
The Pirates will wrap up the regular season on Friday at Cypress College, beginning at 5 p.m.
