Community College Roundup : Fullerton Beats Southwestern to Open Its Own Tournament

Fullerton College opened its own basketball tournament on a winning note Wednesday, beating Southwestern College, 78-67. Hornet sophomore guard Troy Joseph paced Fullerton with 26 points, and guard LaVon Ries led Southwestern with 13 points.

In the other tournament game, Saddleback came from behind to beat Grossmont, 70-53. John Waikle, a 6-foot 9-inch sophomore center, scored 16 points for the Gauchos. Grossmont’s top scorer was guard Earnest Riggins with 14 points.

The eight-team tournament, held at Hornet Gym, will last through Sunday.

Golden West 121, East Los Angeles 86--Golden West opened its basketball season with a victory at home after ending last season with a 16-game losing streak. Sophomore guard Anthony Howard led the Rustlers with 26 points, followed by freshman forward Markus Muller-Stach with 20 and freshman guard Albert Davis with 19 points. Darryl Ford scored 18 points for East Los Angeles.

In women’s volleyball:

Golden West 3, El Camino 0--Golden West, the top-ranked community college team in the state, clinched the South Coast Conference championship with a 15-5, 15-8, 15-7 victory over El Camino (4-10, 3-8). Laura Phillips led the Rustlers (22-1, 11-0) with 10 kills and 12 digs, and Dionne Powers had eight kills and four blocks.

Orange Coast College 3, Saddleback 0--In an Orange Empire Conference match, OCC (8-6, 6-3) defeated Saddleback, 15-2, 15-10, 15-6. Shelly King led the Pirates with 10 kills, Janice Severance added nine and Tiana Meyers had eight.

Cypress 3, Rancho Santiago 2--Led by Lisa Johnson with 11 kills and 12 assists, Cypress (4-12, 2-7) held off Orange Empire Conference opponent Rancho Santiago, 15-9, 7-15, 12-15, 15-7, 15-10. Karen Hiebert had 14 kills to lead Rancho Santiago (7-8, 4-5).

In wrestling:

Cypress 25, Bakersfield 12--Cypress, the No. 2-ranked community college team in California, finished Western State Conference competition 9-1 overall, 4-1 in conference. Cypress’ Frank Trujillo, the state’s top competitor in the 129-pound class, defeated Saul Meza, 16-4.

Golden West 23, Palomar 23--Golden West, with two pinnings in the final two matches, came from behind to tie Palomar and give both teams a 4-2-1 South Coast Conference record. Palomar took an early lead, pinning the Rustlers in the opening two matches, but Golden West’s Rich Brenton (189 pounds) and Shaun Ruster (heavyweight) came back to pin their opponents.