COMMUNITY COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Riverside Outlasts Cypress for Title

Cypress and Riverside, both members of the Orange Empire Conference, will play many more important games as the season goes on.

But the teams might have a hard time matching the intensity in Riverside’s 92-85 victory Saturday in the final of the Riverside Holiday Tournament.

Both benches were up celebrating after every score in the final 10 minutes, and Riverside carried on at center court afterward like it was a playoff game.

Riverside, which is the conference favorite, led much of the way but couldn’t shake a determined Cypress team. Cypress finally went ahead, 70-68, on a short jumper by Jim Falletta with 7 minutes 30 seconds left. The Chargers led by as many as four, but Riverside finally tied it, 80-80, on a three-pointer by Jerome Jackson with 3:40 left.

The Tigers (10-3) took the lead 45 seconds later on a lay-in by Darryle Flicking with 2:55 left.

Daniel Lyton, a 6-foot-8 center who has orally committed to UC Irvine, had two consecutive dunks to give Riverside a 88-82 lead with 1:28 left.

Flicking finished with 25 points, Lyton 21 and Lou Williams, the tournament’s most valuable player, had 20.

Robbie Shelton, who made all-tournament for Cypress, had a game-high 31 points. Brett Evans, another all-tournament selection for the Chargers (10-3) had 12.

In the fifth-place game:

Mt. San Jacinto 101, Fullerton 94--Fullerton trailed by as many as 20 in the first half and got as close as two at 66-64 early in the second half. But Mt. San Jacinto (10-3) then went on a 16-0 run to pull away.

Tamar Ross and Greg Williams had 22 points each for Fullerton (7-7).

In the third-place game of the Hancock women’s basketball tournament:

Golden West 89, Ventura 69--Melanie Iwamasa, who scored 28 points, and Cinnamon Basco, who had 15 points and 14 rebounds, were named to the all-tournament team for Golden West (11-2) in Santa Maria. Ventura is 8-3.