SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MEN’S COMMUNITY COLLEGE BASKETBALL REGIONALS : Shelton, Livingston Direct Cypress to Victory

Robbie Shelton and Anthony Livingston each scored 16 points and Cypress displayed a solid effort on defense in a 65-54 victory over Bakersfield in a Southern California playoff game Saturday at Cypress.

Cypress led most of the first half before Bakersfield finally went up, 29-27, with two minutes and 36 seconds left in the half.

But from there, Cypress went on a 10-0 run the rest of the half to lead, 37-29 at the break.

Shelton, a sophomore forward, had six of the 10 points in the run as he converted on a pair of three-point plays.

The run continued on the second half as Cypress pulled away.

The Chargers (26-8) outscored the Renegades, 24-4, over the first 12 minutes to hold a 51-33 lead with 8 minutes 9 seconds to play.

Cypress’ man defense was especially effective against Bakersfield’s Chris Brown in the second half.

Brown came into the game with 130 three-pointers and averaging 19 points. He scored 11 in the first half including a pair of threes.

But thanks to the work of Gary Gibbs, Bret Evans and others, he was held to one basket--a three-pointer with 33 seconds left--in the second half.

“We got a pretty good group effort on defense,” Cypress Coach Don Johnson said. “I was happy for the intensity and for the most part the unselfishness of our team.”

Shelton was only four of 10 from the field but made eight of 10 free throws. He also had a game-high 12 rebounds. Livingston was six of eight from the field. Bryan Hakala added 12 points also for the Chargers.

Cypress will remain home to play Pasadena (13-16) in the second round Wednesday at 7 p.m. Pasadena, the 28th seeded team, upset No. 5 Southwestern, 88-70, also Saturday.

In other first-round games:

Saddleback 89, East Los Angeles 84 (OT)--Antoine Jefferson had 27 points, including five in overtime as Saddleback (25-7) won at home. Saddleback, the Orange Empire Conference champion, had a chance to win in regulation but turned the ball over with about 10 seconds left. East Los Angeles’ Issac Burton missed a three-pointer as time ran out. Burton finished with a game-high 36 points.

Derrick Walsh and Kevin Fricka each had four points in overtime for Saddleback, which plays host to Rio Hondo on Wednesday. Rio Hondo beat Moorpark, 84-57.

Sean Warren had a career-high 17 for Saddleback.

Rancho Santiago 103, LA Harbor 81--Ruben Oronoz had 26 points and a team-high nine rebounds for visiting Rancho Santiago (20-12). It was the sixth time in seven seasons the Dons have won at least 20 games.

J.J. Ballesteros had 20 points and 10 assists also for Rancho Santiago, which advances to play at Ventura Wednesday. Ventura beat San Diego City, 129-90, also Saturday.

Long Beach 102, Golden West 92--Josh Lewis had 22 and Brendan Lyons had 20 for visiting Golden West, which ends 12-20.

Rod Harris had 26 and Kevin Beal added 23 for Long Beach (26-8).

Santa Monica 100, Irvine Valley 70--Irvine Valley, in its first season, ends 14-17, with the loss on the road.