Orange Coast College

Pirates tagged by Toney, Lasers 77-71

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

COSTA MESA - The Irvine Valley Lasers found their hot hand in the second half and rode him all the way to the finish line.

Jason Toney scored 36 points, 26 in the second half as the Lasers defeated the host Pirates 77-71 in Orange Empire Conference action Wednesday night.

The freshman guard from El Dorado went 9-of-13 from the field, 6-of-8 from 3-point land and 12-of-13 from the free-throw line for the Lasers (14-14, 3-7 in conference).

Toney's hot shooting helped ignite a 17-2 IVC run early in the second half, turning a four-point halftime deficit into a nine-point Laser lead just six minutes into the second half.

Despite several strong attempts to rally, the Pirates (13-14, 4-5) never saw the lead again. Shaun Engle led OCC with 15 points. Miguel Gonzalez added 13 points and five assists, Cameron Wise tossed in 12 points and Brian Molina tossed in 10 points. Steve Cornett added nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Trailing 63-55 with 5:45 left, the Pirates ripped off seven straight points to get to within one. Back-to-back baskets by Josh Poitevin and Engle, followed by a pair of made free throws by Cornett and one FT by Wise capped off the rally.

But the Lasers answered that run with seven straight points of their own -- capped off by a 3-pointer by Toney with 55 seconds left, giving IVC a 70-62 lead.

Gonzalez would answer right back with a trey of his own seconds later, but the Lasers would make their free throws down the stretch (6-of-7 in the final minute) to preserve the win.

OCC will return to action at Santa Ana on Friday and at Saddleback on Feb. 14 before wrapping up the regular season at home against Riverside on Feb. 16. All three games are set to tip off at 7:30 p.m.