Orange Coast College

Men's Basketball: Pirates' snap skid by stopping Gauchos

Friday, January 25, 2008

COSTA MESA -- Much like the Durham Bulls in the movie "Bull Durham", all the Orange Coast College men's basketball team needed to snap their losing streak was a rainout -- not an easy task to accomplish inside a gymnasium.

But, following Wednesday's postponement of their game with Riverside courtesy of a leaky Peterson Gym roof, the Pirates came out strong against visiting Saddleback on Friday and posted a 72-56 for their first Orange Empire Conference win of the season and their first win of any kind since Dec. 19 against L.A. Harbor.

Brian Gee led the Pirates (5-16, 1-3 in conference) with 19 points, while Brian Helmuth notched a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Shaun Engle matched Helmuth in points with 16 and also grabbed three rebounds and dished out three assists.

Leading by just two at the break, the Pirates took control of the game with a 16-3 run over the first 6:15 of the second half and never looked back. In that span, Saddleback was held to just 1-of-8 shooting and nine turnovers.

OCC showed strong poise down the stretch and never saw its lead creep under 10 points the rest of the way.

Reggie Patterson and Cornell Jenkins each had 10 points to lead Saddleback (9-14, 1-4).

The Pirates will return to the Peterson Gym on Monday night for their make-up game with Riverside, beginning at 5:30 p.m. After a 5:30 p.m. road game at Santa Ana on Wednesday, Coast returns home to host Irvine Valley at 7:30 p.m. to kick off the second round of OEC play.