Fullerton Falls to Glendale as Heicke Finds Target, 91-77

Basketball players not accustomed to the domed Palomar College gymnasium often struggle with their depth perception while trying to gauge shots against the unusual background.

Before this week’s Palomar tournament got under way, Glendale College guard Bruce Heicke suspected he might have trouble too.

“I knew we would do well as a team but I didn’t know how well I would do,” Heicke said. “I was scared. It’s something about the background of this gym. In the first game last year I scored something like two points.”

But in a first-round game against Fullerton on Wednesday, Heicke was at home in the dome, scoring a game-high 34 points to pace Glendale to a 91-77 victory.

Glendale (11-5), which won its seventh consecutive game, boasts seven returning players, including four who were starters last season.

“Experience is a big factor in basketball and we’re capitalizing on it right now,” Glendale Coach Brian Beauchemin said.

The Vaqueros certainly appeared more seasoned than Fullerton during an 18-4 run late in the game.

After Glendale’s advantage was trimmed to 71-67 with 6 minutes, 15 seconds to play, Glendale launched its offensive. Heicke scored six points in the flurry and Gary Fowler, who finished with 12, added four.

Fullerton led briefly, at 15-14, and trailed by just a point, 30-29, with seven minutes left in the first half. Heicke promptly gave Glendale breathing room, however, scoring 13 points before intermission to push Glendale ahead, 49-39.

Glendale forward Dave Swanson scored 18 points and center Justin Lord, who punctuated the victory with a dunk, contributed 14.

Fullerton, which fell to 8-8, was led by Rashone Lewis with 24 points. Sam Allen and Mike Keith each added 10.

Heicke’s only gripe was missing three of 16 free throws. He made 13 of 14 against Antelope Valley in a game last week.