Saddleback defeats IVC in first Presidents’ Cup
The No. 4 ranked Gauchos hosted the Lasers last Friday night, and not only was it Saddleback’s and Irvine Valley first annual Presidents’ Cup but there were a few back stories leading up to tip-off.
Andy Ground the Head Coach for the Gauchos took on his former team, the Lasers, led by Head Coach Jerry Hernandez.
Also joining Ground, was sophomore Franklin Session who started for the Gauchos, and Perry Webster who was not dressed in uniform, both of which played for Hernandez last year at IVC.
As for the game itself, the Gauchos seemed to control the tempo of the game throughout.
They entered half time with a 23-16 lead despite having a lower field goal percentage than IVC, which turned out to be true in the game. Despite winning by 10 points the Gauchos shot 35 percent for the game and the Lasers shot 40 percent.
Perhaps the turning point of the game was when IVC forward Kwame Alexander was hit with a technical foul after hanging on the rim after a dunk.
The dunk was disallowed as well. Saddleback took advantage hitting both technical free throws.
Session was the leading scorer for the Gauchos, with 12 points , two assists and eight rebounds.
Alexander, was the leading scorer for the Lasers. He had 17 points, with 13 rebounds.
Saddleback got help from its bench which out-scored the Lasers bench 19-10.
The Gauchos have extended their winning streak to 14, with a 18-5 record overall. They’re 3-0 in conference.
The Gauchos will host Cypress tonight at 7:30 p.m. The Chargers are 2-1 in OEC play and have a 12-11 record overall. Fullerton will host Saddleback on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Hornets are 3-0 in OEC play and have a record of 11-8 overall.
The Lasers have now lost four straight conference games, with a record of 0-4. As for their overall record they fall to 10-13 on the season.
The Lasers will play at Riverside tonight at 7:30 p.m. The Tigers come into this game with a 3-1 record in conference play and a 19-5 record overall.
On Friday night the Lasers will host Santa Ana at 7:30 p.m.
The Dons are 0-4 in conference games and have a record of 10-11 overall.
Standings (select “Orange Empire Conference”):