Pirates fall just short to Gauchos in conference opener
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saddleback (15-2, 1-0) | 29 | 34 | 63 |
|
Orange Coast (7-9, 0-1) | 24 | 35 | 59 |
COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College men's basketball team threw everything it had against visiting Saddleback College, but in the end, the Pirates came up just short, 63-59, on Wednesday night inside the Peterson Gym.
The Pirates (7-9, 0-1 in the Orange Empire Conference) trimmed the Gauchos' lead down to 61-59 when Josh Mendoza nailed a 3-pointer with six seconds remaining. OCC quickly fouled Saddleback's Chance Kalaugher and after making the first free throw, the Gauchos' forward missed the second, but teammate Nick Crankshaw recovered the rebound and made 1-of-2 from the line to seal the deal.
In a game where defense and chaos were the orders of the day, the stats reflected the hard work away from the ball. Saddleback (15-2, 1-0) was held to just 39 shots the entire game as the Pirates' defensive aggressiveness forced several trips to the free-throw line, where the Gauchos struggled, hitting just 17-of-35 from the charity stripe (48.6 percent).
Meanwhile, the Pirates managed to hoist up 17 more shots than their opponents, but struggled from the field, going 19-of-56 (33.9 percent) and just 7-of-23 from 3-point range (30.4 percent).
Nate Harding led Coast with 13 points, while Kamar Reese added 12 and Mendoza tossed in nine on 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
For the Gauchos, T.J. Shorts had 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Colin Ferrier and Juston Faison each added 11.
The Pirates will travel to Riverside City College on Friday night to take on the Tigers, before returning to the Peterson Gym on Wednesday night to host Cypress College. Both games will tip off at 7 p.m.
