COMMUNITY COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Saddleback Comes Back to Win After Slow Start

Saddleback rallied from as many as 16 points to defeat Rancho Santiago, 75-70, in the championship game of the Rancho Santiago Holiday tournament Saturday in Santa Ana.

Saddleback struggled at the start, and was down, 35-19, with 5 minutes 28 seconds left in the first half.

Things were hardly better early in the second half as Rancho Santiago led, 49-38, with 15:42 to play.

But Saddleback’s zone defense tightened and the Gauchos’ offense started to work.

Saddleback finally overtook Rancho Santiago, 60-59, when sophomore center Dee Boyer posted up and made a layup with 5:53 left.

Saddleback (7-7) would never trail again.

Rancho Santiago was forced to try three-pointers in an effort to catch up but made only one of 11 in the second half, and four of 18 in the game.

In the San Diego Mesa men’s tournament:

Orange Coast 56, SD Mesa 46--Agustin Heredia scored 14 points and Michael Wenzlaff added 11, including three three-pointers for OCC in the consolation semifinals. OCC plays Arizona Glendale at 2 p.m. today for the consolation title.

In the Alan Hancock men’s tournament:

Golden West 94, Monterey Peninsula 79--Greg Evans scored a game-high 25 points and Mark Johnson added 24 as the Rustlers improved to 8-10 with the victory in the consolation semifinal game.

In the Palomar men’s basketball tournament:

Los Angeles Harbor 89, Fullerton 88--Bob Terry scored 31 points and Greg Bedford had 14 for Fullerton (8-7). While Fullerton squandered an eight-point second-half lead, Los Angeles Harbor took the lead on a basket with two seconds remaining and denied the Hornets a last second shot.

In nonconference men’s basketball:

Cypress 76, Norton AFB 48--David Boyle, a sophomore from Mater Dei high school, had 20 points to lead Cypress (11-4) past Norton Air Force Base. Sophomore Tim Tillman from Savanna also had 12 points.

Flip Banks had a string of 29 consecutive free throws made broken when he missed his third attempt. The school record is held by Grayle Humphrey who made 38 consecutive free throws during the 1989-1990 season.

In the Grossmont women’s tournament:

Utah Valley 89, Golden West 77--Jennifer Harney had 20 points for the losing Rustlers (13-4) in a semifinal game. Utah Valley (13-0) is ranked fifth in the nation by the National Junior College Athletic Assn.

In the Fullerton women’s tournament:

Fullerton 71, Fresno City 59--Hollie Keeton had 22 points and nine rebounds as the Hornets improved to 7-7.