COMMUNITY COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Rancho Santiago Rolls Past Rio Hondo in Semifinal

Chris Rose controlled the middle and Rancho Santiago dominated the game, beating Rio Hondo, 82-56, in one semifinal of the Rancho Santiago Holiday men’s basketball tournament Thursday.

Rose, a sophomore center, scored 25 points and had 12 rebounds for the Dons (11-5), who meet MiraCosta in the final tonight at 7. Rose, who left the game with about eight minutes left, had 13 points in the first half as Rancho Santiago opened a 46-26 lead.

“I think we’re getting where we want to be,” Rancho Santiago Coach Ray Rodriguez said. “We’re getting a little bit more intense.”

Tremain Ross added 14 points and 10 assists and Ramon Alliman had 13 points for Rancho Santiago.

In another semifinal:

MiraCosta 72, Saddleback 62--Saddleback (11-3) rallied to take the lead, 60-56, with five minutes 53 seconds left but scored only two points the rest of the way. The loss stopped the Gauchos’ 11-game winning streak. “We weren’t very smart at the end,” Saddleback Coach Bill Brummel said.

Anthony Carter had 25 points for Saddleback, which plays Rio Hondo for third-place today at 5 p.m. Ryan Dermidjian had 17 for MiraCosta (13-1), which has beaten Saddleback twice this season.