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.
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