OCC Wins Conference Opener, 72-66

Nick Burwell made only eight of 30 shots but scored 22 points and helped Orange Coast to a 72-66 victory over Irvine Valley in an Orange Empire Conference men’s basketball opener Thursday night.

Ryan Earl had 13 points and five assists for Orange Coast (10-6, 1-0).

Chris Ferguson had 18 points and Mike Ahmad had 16 points and 16 rebounds for Irvine Valley (10-8, 0-1).

Riverside 83, Golden West 61--Darnell Graham had 21 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots for host Golden West (2-11, 0-1).

Ricky Fisher scored 23 points for Riverside (10-9, 1-0).

Santa Ana 78, Cypress 64--Zac Fray had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Mark Watson had 18 rebounds for visiting Santa Ana (10-7, 1-0).

Patrick Douglass had 19 points for Cypress (7-10, 0-1), which trailed, 34-24, at halftime. Santa Ana outrebounded Cypress, 50-24.

In Orange Empire Conference women’s basketball:

Irvine Valley 50, Orange Coast 43--Fala Suiaunoa scored 14 points for Irvine Valley (13-5, 1-0). Nadia Mojica had 15 points and 13 rebounds for Orange Coast (10-8, 0-1).

Santa Ana 59, Cypress 46--Acheve Barre scored 15 points and Jennifer Garrett had 10 points and 24 rebounds for visiting Santa Ana (12-5, 1-0), which held Cypress to 21.9% field-goal shooting.