COMMUNITY COLLEGE ROUNDUP

Golden West Advances in Fullerton Tournament

Golden West followed its plan of getting the ball inside when it counted most Wednesday and came away with a 65-52 victory over Cypress in one semifinal of the Fullerton women’s tournament.

Julie Murdent, a freshman center, scored a game-high 21 points for Golden West (18-2). Murdent was seven of 11 from the field and seven of eight on free-throw attempts.

Murdent had 15 points in the second half, including 10 in the final nine minutes.

Forward Katie Miner added 13 points and Michelle Kravik, another forward, had 11 for Golden West as the front line combined for 45 of 65 points. The Rustlers were forced to look inside because guard Deana Itow, who leads the team at 19 points a game, was struggling. She was only four of 19 with 10 points.

Golden West was able to work well inside partly because Cypress’ Yolanda Hearvey was in foul trouble, which limited her playing time.

“That was our game plan,” Golden West Coach Dick Stricklin said. “To go right after their big people.”

Golden West opened a 12-2 lead and had a 31-26 lead at the half. The Chargers (14-4) got within one, 33-32, when Sara Works (14 points) made a basket with 15:30 left.

Golden West plays Riverside at 4 p.m. today for the tournament championship. Cypress takes on Fullerton at 2 p.m. in the third-place game.

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In the other semifinal:

Riverside 63, Fullerton 42--Fullerton (12-8) trailed, 24-18, at the half and was outscored, 39-24, in the second half. Riverside is 17-5.

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In the Rancho Santiago Holiday tournament:

Saddleback 84, Mt. San Antonio 65--For the second consecutive game, Saddleback played poorly in the first half but turned it around in the second. The Gauchos (9-5) were down, 42-31, at the break but rallied largely because of the contributions of sophomores Tes Whitlock and Antoine Jefferson.

Whitlock scored 18 points in the second half, including 12 in a row, and finished with a game-high 30.

“It was nice to see Tes finally get hot,” Saddleback Coach Bill Brummel said. “It’s been a while since that has happened.”

Whitlock’s attack began when he hit a short jumper to cut the lead to one, 54-53, with 10 minutes 26 seconds left. About a minute later, he made two free throws to give Saddleback its first lead of the game, 55-54.

He then added a lay-up and back-to-back three-pointers and Saddleback led, 63-58, with seven minutes left.

Jefferson didn’t score in the first half but scored 18 in the second half mainly because Saddleback got him the ball to him inside.

He had eight of Saddleback’s first 12 points in the half to help start the Gauchos on their comeback.

Saddleback moves into the title game tonight at 7 against Long Beach, which beat Rancho Santiago, 117-115, in four overtimes.

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In the College of the Canyons men’s basketball tournament:

Cypress 66, East Los Angeles 64--Craig Olson, a sophomore guard from Fullerton High, scored all 13 of his points in the second half for Cypress in the third-place game. Olson also had seven rebounds and six assists.

Jim Falletta, who made a layup with 1:40 to play to give Cypress its final points of the game, had 13 points. East Los Angeles had a chance to win but Alex Espinosa’s three-point attempt from the top of the key fell short at the buzzer.

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In the Hancock men’s basketball tournament:

Irvine Valley 110, Oxnard 91--Steve Ransom had 26 points and 11 rebounds and Damon Sims had 25 points and 17 rebounds as Irvine Valley (12-6) won the consolation final in Santa Maria.

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In the mens’ San Diego Mesa basketball tournament:

Orange Coast 91, Glendale (Ariz.) 87--Orange Coast (10-5) led by 17 in the first half, but fell behind, 86-85, with 56 seconds remaining before pulling off the victory in the third-place game. Derek Roche and Chauncey Woolridge had 26 points for the Pirates and point guard Cornel Archer was named to the all-tournament team.