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COMMUNITY COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Rancho Santiago Wins 18th in a Row

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There was a distinct sound in the Rancho Santiago College gym Wednesday night while the Dons were defeating Golden West, 88-72, in an Orange Empire Conference men’s basketball game.

The noise was the rim being rammed down, then snapping back into place after a dunk. Rancho Santiago forward Erik Martin had six slams, including five in a row in the second half, and center Corie Blount had five. Each missed a dunk as well.

It was the 18th consecutive victory for Rancho Santiago (21-1, 3-0), which ties the school record set by the 1986-87 team. The victory also give the Dons sole possession of first place in the conference. Golden West (10-11, 2-1) had been tied for the lead.

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Golden West managed to make it a game for the first half. The Rustlers led by two points, 21-19, with 7:19 to go in the half, but fell behind, 36-29, at the break.

Rancho Santiago, the top-ranked team in the state, moved up to its usual speed in the second half and pulled away. The Dons went on a 13-4 run to start the half and led, 49-33, with 16:31 left.

“We played a little bit better in the second half,” Rancho Santiago Coach Dana Pagett said. “Maybe we were a little more determined. We just worked hard until we got it up to a comfortable margin.”

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Martin had game-highs in points with 24 and rebounds with 11. He leads Rancho Santiago in scoring this season with a 22.5 average.

Blount had 19 points and 10 rebounds and guard Brett Pagett had 16 points, 14 in the second half. Pagett missed five consecutive three-point tries, then hit two in a row during a second-half stretch in which he scored eight consecutive points.

Rancho Santiago build the lead to 31 points at 88-57 with about three minutes left, but Golden West scored the final 15 points of the game.

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Guards Ric Van Scoyoc (21 points) and Tom Dever (13) were the only Golden West players in double figures.

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