Orange Coast College

Men's Basketball: Pirates stun Dons on the road

Saturday, February 10, 2007

SANTA ANA - Apparently, the Orange Coast College men's basketball team wasn't impressed with Santa Ana's big win on Wednesday against No. 2 Riverside.

Thanks to a balanced offense and strong defensive pressure, the Pirates went to the Bill Cook Gym and upset the 20th-ranked Dons 80-74 on Friday night in Orange Empire Conference action.

The Dons (21-8, 5-5 in conference), ranked No. 9 in Southern California, handed the Tigers an 81-75 loss on Wednesday, only their third loss of the season in 29 games. But that positive mojo was wiped out by a stubborn all-around game by the Pirates (14-14, 5-5), who avenged an earlier home loss to the Dons.

Miguel Gonzalez (pictured left), Steve Cornett and Diego Delgado each scored 14 points to lead OCC, while Shaun Engle added 13 points. Down low, Cameron Wise and Joe Nwabuzor combined for 14 points and 16 rebounds.

Both teams exchanged leads all night long. Trailing by two with 4:17 left, Delgado hit a clutch 3-pointer of the game, giving the Pirates the lead for good.

With the Pirates' lead up to two with 1:52 left, Delgado came up big again, draining his third trey of the night, pushing OCC's lead up to five, 71-66.

After a Dons' 3-pointer cut the lead back to two, OCC ripped off seven straight points to pull ahead for good. The Pirates came up big from the free-throw line with the game on the line, hitting 9-of-10 in the final 2:37 of the game.

James Silve led the Dons with 14 points, while Tyre Thompson added 13.

OCC will head down the freeway to take on Saddleback on Wednesday before returning home to wrap up the regular season against Riverside on Feb. 16. Both games are set to begin at 7:30 p.m.