Orange Coast College

Men's Basketball: Pirates edged by Saddleback

Thursday, February 15, 2007

MISSION VIEJO - A strong second-half surge gave the Orange Coast College men's basketball team an opportunity for another big-time road win, but down the stretch, the "big shot" could not be hit.

Trailing by two with 10 seconds left, three OCC shots to tie the game missed their mark as the Pirates fell 58-56 to host Saddleback on Wednesday night.

A win on Wednesday would have been back-to-back road wins against top-10 teams in Southern California for the Pirates, who topped No. 9 Santa Ana on Friday.

Miguel Gonzalez led the Pirates (14-15, 5-6 in the Orange Empire Conference) with 17 points, while Cameron Wise and Steve Cornett each added seven.

Trailing 32-24 at the half the Pirates came out hot in the second half, erasing the deficit and taking a five-point lead with 3:33 left in the game.

But led by the play of Tremaine Ford (21 points, 16 rebounds), the Gauchos, ranked No. 7 in Southern California, used some clutch free-throw shots down the stretch to catch, then surpass the Pirates late in the game.

OCC will wrap up the regular season at home against No. 2 Riverside, beginning at 7:30 p.m.