Leaders Hoping to Keep Lofty Status

Irvine Valley and Fullerton, which are tied for first in the Orange Empire Conference men’s basketball race, hope to hold their positions before meeting Feb. 19.

Irvine Valley (22-6, 9-1) is at Rancho Santiago (14-11, 3-7) Wednesday and hosts third-place Riverside (19-10, 6-4) Friday.

Riverside is at Fullerton (16-10, 9-1) Wednesday then Fullerton travels fourth-place Saddleback (15-11, 5-5) Friday. All games are at 7:30 p.m.

*

Leaders: Lohnnie Tape, a freshman forward, leads the conference in scoring at 20.8 points per game. Golden West’s Ray Jimmerson is second at 20. OCC’s Duane Curtis is at 18.7 and Daryl Todd of Irvine Valley is at 18.6.

Cypress A.D. Lamoureux leads in rebounds at 10.5 and David Downs of OCC is second at 8.7.

*

Moving on: Corrie Willkie, a sophomore second baseman at Saddleback College, has signed to attend Oregon State next fall, the college announced. Willkie hit .405 and had a Saddleback record 20-game hitting streak last season. He also scored 35 runs and had 12 steals in 13 tries.