Cypress and Rancho Santiago Meet With Title at Stake

Cypress College can win the Orange Empire Conference basketball title outright, but Rancho Santiago can get a share of the title in the teams’ 7:30 game tonight at Rancho Santiago.

Cypress (25-3), which has won 12 in a row, is the top-ranked team in Southern California and the second-ranked team in the state behind Skyline.

The Chargers are 11-0 in Orange Empire Conference play and have a one-game lead over Rancho Santiago (27-2, 10-1).

Rancho Santiago, which has won five in a row, is ranked third in Southern California and fourth in the state.

Cypress defeated the Dons, 75-60, in the teams’ first meeting Jan. 24. Cypress led by four points with 5 minutes 21 seconds left, but made 15 of 18 free throws to pull away.

A victory tonight would assure Cypress of the top conference seed and a bye in the first round of the Southern California Regional playoffs, which start Feb. 24.

If Rancho Santiago wins tonight, the teams would share the title and a coin flip would decide which team is top-seeded.

Cypress, Rancho Santiago and third-place Golden West (20-10, 7-4) already have clinched playoff spots. The pairings for the 26 teams in the playoffs will be announced Tuesday.

The final four teams from Southern and Northern California meet in the state tournament March 8-10 at UC Irvine.

Golden West is at Fullerton (11-18, 2-9) and Saddleback (9-18, 2-9) is at Orange Coast (13-13, 2-9) in the other Orange Empire Conference games. Riverside (18-13, 5-7) has the final bye.