Community College Basketball : Becker Comes In to Help Cypress Pull Out a Victory Over Saddleback

Jeff Green made two free throws with three seconds left Wednesday night to lift Cypress College to a 63-62 victory over Saddleback in an Orange Empire Conference men’s basketball game at Saddleback.

Saddleback had taken a 62-61 lead on a steal and dunk by Vincent Smalls with 12 seconds left.

Cypress then got the ball to Green, who drove the baseline and missed a shot but was fouled by Saddleback center John Waikle.

After Green’s free throws, Saddleback got the ball up court to Waikle, who missed a 25-foot shot as time ran out. Cypress made 18 of 21 free throws; Green was 4 of 6 from the line.

It was the 12th consecutive victory for Cypress (27-5, 9-0), which is ranked fourth in the state and second in Southern California. Cypress clinched the conference championship last Saturday with a 74-72 victory over Rancho Santiago.

Karl Becker came off the bench to lead Cypress with a career-high 22 points, including 6 of 6 on three-point baskets. He only took one two-point shot and missed it. Becker, a sophomore guard is averaging six points a game. He scored 12 in the victory over Rancho Santiago Saturday and 11 in the victory over Citrus Feb. 10.

Becker’s pass intended for Jim Sammon was stolen by Smalls, who dunked to give Saddleback the lead with 12 seconds left. Becker also was called for a technical foul for disputing a referee’s call with 2:38 left. But Saddleback’s Renny Ingram missed the foul shot.

Smalls, playing to the form that made him an all-state player last season, scored a game-high 23 points, including 14 in the second half. He also had 10 rebounds.

Smalls, a 6-foot 4-inch forward from Philadelphia, scored the first six points of the second half for Saddleback (17-10, 5-4), which built a 44-39 lead with 10:35 left but couldn’t shake Cypress thanks to Becker. Becker scored 11 consecutive points at one point in the second half.

In other Orange Empire Conference games:

Rancho Santiago 91, Citrus 59--Alonzo Jamison scored 26, Chris Martin 19 and Ralph Garcia 15 for visiting Rancho Santiago (22-7, 7-2), which clinched second place with the victory.

Orange Coast 65, Riverside 62--Dave Miles sank a shot from midcourt with one second left for visiting Orange Coast (17-14, 4-5). Miles scored 21 points.

In the South Coast Conference:

Golden West 80, Long Beach 75--Markus Muller-Stach scored 28 points for visiting Golden West (15-14, 5-8), which had 27 offensive rebounds.

Fullerton 87, Mt. San Antonio 62--Darrin Queen scored 21 points to lead host Fullerton (17-12, 7-6). Troy Joseph had 18 points and Kellie McKinney 11 for Fullerton. Jim Farris scored 15 points for Mt. SAC (3-10 in conference).

In South Coast Conference women’s basketball:

Long Beach 92, Golden West 84--The loss stopped Golden West’s 27-game winning steak. Golden West is 28-2, 12-1).

In Orange Empire Conference women’s play:

Cypress 89, Saddleback 55--Vicky Silva scored 24 points, as host Cypress (23-9, 9-0) clinched the Orange Empire Conference championship and set a school record for victories in a single season.