Community College Roundup : OCC Goes O for Week as Cerritos Wins, 62-59

Coach Tandy Gillis said last Saturday that he would have been satisfied if his Orange Coast College basketball team won two of its three South Conference games this week.

But, after Saturday night’s 62-59 loss to Cerritos at Norwalk, Gillis was more disgusted than satisfied. Orange Coast’s defeat at the hands of the first-place Falcons brought an end to a week which saw the Pirates go a disappointing 0 for 3.

On Monday, Orange Coast (4-4 in conference, 13-9 overall) was upset by Compton, and Wednesday, the Pirates blew a 13-point lead en route to an overtime loss to Mt. San Antonio. But neither of those games could compare with the frustration the Pirates would experience against Cerritos (7-0, 16-3).

Orange Coast played a poor first half and trailed, 34-22, after 20 minutes. The Pirates continued to look bad in the early minutes of the second half, and, following a basket by Falcon guard Joe Yezbak at the 16:46 mark, Orange Coast trailed by 22 points, 46-24.

Then, the Pirates began a comeback, scoring 12 straight points to cut Cerritos’ lead to 10 at 46-36. Behind the play of forward-guard Shaughn Ryan and guard Mark Goudge, Orange Coast eventually got as close as one point at 56-55, 58-57 and 60-59, but could not make the one crucial basket to take the lead.

As Gillis watched in horror, Orange Coast squandered its chance for a remarkable win. Cerritos committed several key turnovers in the final 10 minutes, but they were followed by missed free throws, blown layups or turnovers by Orange Coast.

With 36 seconds remaining, Cerritos guard Marlon Wadlington gave the Falcons at 62-59 lead by making a 10-foot jump shot, and that finally secured the victory for Cerritos.

“We played as hard as hell to come back, but we just could not get the lead,” Gillis said. “We missed free throws and layups . . . we really need a break now.”

There were no breaks for Orange Coast in the first half, as Cerritos dominated the Pirates with their tough zone defense and aggressive rebounding.

Bad wouldn’t be adequate to describe Orange Coast’s start. The Pirates turned the ball over on their first three times down the court and didn’t score for the first 4:46. Guard Russell Heicke, who led the Falcons with 16 points, helped Cerritos take control from the tipoff.

Cerritos started the second half by outscoring Orange Coast, 10-2, and the only excitement that seemed remaining for the small crowd was the post-game dance. But then, Orange Coast finally got going and outscored the Falcons, 12-0, to get back in the game.

Cerritos, which has won two straight conference championships in part because of its ability to keep its composure, uncharacteristically lost it. Instead of trying to eat up the clock, the Falcons took some ill-advised outside shots, and, coupled with their inability to handle the ball, continued to encourage Orange Coast’s rally, which failed only because of the Pirates themselves.

Ryan, who led all scorers with 23 points (17 in the second half), drove through the Cerritos defense time and again and suddenly, the Pirates were in range to take the lead. But they never could do it. In the last 1:50, Ryan missed two free throws, forward Garinn Morton missed one and guard Pat Drake missed a short jumper--all when the Pirates had cut Cerritos’ lead down to one.

For Cerritos Coach Jack Bogdanovich, this game was all too predictable.

“It seems that there’s a script we follow when we play Orange Coast,” he said. “We get ahead by 18 or 20 and that loosens them up and tightens us up and they come roaring back.

“We did some things out there that weren’t real smart. But we still haven’t lost in conference, and I’ll take it.”

Orange Coast, which was without guard Jon Johnston because of the flu, got 14 points from Goudge and 10 from Morton. Yezbak and center Brian Coleman added 12 each for Cerritos.

ORANGE COAST (59)--Ryan 23, Farmer 5, Morton 10, Goudge 14, Drake 6, Toomey 1.

CERRITOS (62)--Guy 7, Heicke 16, Coleman 12, Wadlington 5, Yezbak 12, Collins 6, Miller 4.

Halftime--Cerritos, 34-22.

In other South Coast Conference play:

Saddleback 66, Santa Ana 56--Alexander Hamilton scored 17 points and Eric Cornly added 14 points and grabbed 7 rebounds to lead the Gauchos (3-4, 13-8) to their third straight win at Santa Ana. Scott Warner scored 20 points and Ryan Shaw grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the Dons. Santa Ana (1-6, 9-11) lost its sixth straight game.

SADDLEBACK (66)--Hamilton 17, Dawson 6, Sullivan 8, Mulder 8, Thomas 10, Cornly 14, Carr 3.

SANTA ANA (56)--Streavel 2, Hughes 11, Warner 20, Escobedo 6, Shaw 6, McCall 6, Williams 1, Prange 4.

Halftime--Saddleback, 29-27.

Fullerton 61, Compton 60--Jon Haymond hit two free throws with 15 seconds to play to give the Hornets the win at Fullerton. Compton managed to follow that with a shot at the buzzer, but it was wide. Fullerton (5-2) hosts Mt. SAC on Wednesday.

FULLERTON (61)--Rollins 12, Samuelson 14, Long 7, Smith 7, Pratt 6, Haymond 10, Melton 5.

COMPTON (60)--D. Johnson 11, Fleming 12, R. Johnson 4, Bullock 10, Stewart 13, Crawford 6, Henderson 4.

Halftime--Compton, 32-24.

Mt. San Antonio 60, Cypress 55--The Mounties (6-1, 19-2) defeated the Chargers to remain one game behind first-place Cerritos. Cypress (4-3, 10-8)had a four-game win streak snapped.