Pirates hold off Chargers

Barry Faulkner

Though the Orange Coast College men’s basketball team continues to

come from behind in its quest for one of the 20 Southern California

regional playoff berths, it proved it could succeed playing from

ahead Friday night.

Just 48 hours after blowing a 25-point lead with 11:43 left in a

72-69 Orange Empire Conference loss to visiting Riverside, the

Pirates held off the hard-charging Chargers from Cypress for a 66-60

conference triumph at OCC.

But the victory, the third in the last four games for the Pirates

(14-11, 5-7 in conference) was not without intrigue.

Cypress (9-16, 2-10), which has dropped six of its last seven,

trimmed a 13-point lead with 11:35 remaining to 62-60 with 21 seconds

left.

But OCC freshman guard Lance Ortiz hit 3 of 4 free throws over a

12-second span and freshman Reggie Brown iced the win with two foul

shots with 4.6 seconds left.

“A win is a win, but we still haven’t learned our lesson,” OCC

Coach Steve Spencer said. “We’re still taking vacations on

possessions on offense and defense and you can’t do that and expect

to have success.”

Defense helped the Pirates take control in the opening half, as

their trapping pressure helped produce 15 of Cypress’ 24 turnovers.

A three-point play by Ortiz broke a 12-12 tie and OCC answered a

Cypress bucket with an 11-0 run that featured points from five

different players.

Pirate defensive pressure helped keep Cypress scoreless for a span

of 5:17 to help foster the lopsided scoring flurry, as the Chargers

made just 9 of 28 field-goal attempts (32.1%) before intermission.

“I was happy with our defense in the first half, but not in the

second,” said Spencer, who loudly encouraged his players to focus as

Cypress came roaring back, behind sophomore sharpshooter Hassan Cook

and freshman Houston Downey.

“They were like racoons in a corner, so we knew they were going to

come out swinging,” Spencer said of the Cypress surge. The Chargers,

who shot 50% from the field after intermission, scored 11 straight

points, including a pair of Cook three-pointers, to close to within

55-51 with 5:29 left.

But OCC freshman Craig Williams drilled a 14-foot jumper 33

seconds later, then made a layup after a steal to produce an

eight-point cushion with 4:40 left.

Another Cook three ball -- he was 4 of 4 from beyond the arc --

sparked a 5-0 Cypress run, before freshman Matt Davis made a

corkscrew 12-footer with 3:32 left to make it 61-56.

The two teams each missed two free throws before Cypress’ Sam

Davis sandwiched two layups around an Ortiz foul shot to close the

gap to two with 21 seconds left.

But OCC kept its poise and converted its free throws down the

stretch to prevail.

Brown led four Pirates in double figures with 13 points. Ortiz finished with 12, while sophomore forward Dave Seifert and Davis, a

reserve, chipped in 10 apiece.

Davis had a team-leading eight rebounds, but the Pirates were

beaten on the boards, 40-34.

The 6-foot-3 Downey came off the bench to lead the visitors with

17 points and 10 rebounds, while Sam Davis, a 6-6 sophomore, added 16

points and nine boards.

OCC may need to win its final two regular-season games (at Golden

West Wednesday and home against Irvine Valley Friday), then hope for

help to earn a postseason bid, Spencer said.

“We’re in a position where we don’t control our own destiny,”

Spencer said. “We need to win our next two, then it’s going to depend

on what happens to teams in some other conferences.”

Orange Empire Conference

Orange Coast 66

Cypress 60

Cypress -- Davis 16, Mercer 2, Cook 13, Crenshaw 0, Mims 2, Downey

17, Jubrey 6, White 4.

3-pt. goals -- Cook 4.

Orange Coast -- Seifert 10, Chester 4, Brown 13, Ortiz 12, James

0, Davis 10, Valentine 7, Mendoza 6, Williams 4.

3-pt. goals -- Mendoza 2, Valentine 1, Brown 1, Ortiz 1.

Halftime -- Orange Coast, 34-21.