Orange Coast College

Men's Baseketball: Pirates come close, but Gauchos prevail

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College men's basketball gave the No. 4 ranked Saddleback Gauchos all they could handle on Wednesday, but the visiting Gauchos managed to slip out of the Peterson Gym with a 68-65 Orange Empire Conference win over the Pirates.

Both teams went back and forth the entire night and with 2:15 left in the game, OCC (8-13, 1-1 in conference) held a 62-58 advantage over the Gauchos (17-5, 2-0).

After both teams made 1-of-2 from the free-throw line, Saddleback's Billy Azizi hit a jumper down low to trim the deficit to 62-60 with 2:00 left.

A couple of tough defensive stands by the Gauchos yielded four straight points for the guests, giving Saddleback a 64-62 advantage with 57 seconds left.

A driving layup by Eric Williams tied the game at 64 and after a Gauchos' timeout with 45 seconds left, OCC's Martin Whitmore (15 points) came up with a steal behind his basket, but a tough pass to a Pirate teammate fell into the hands of Kevin Menner.

Menner took the ball coast to coast and gave the Gauchos the lead for good with 25 seconds left. A missed 3-pointer by the Pirates was followed up with two made free throws by Terrell Mack, giving Saddleback a 68-64 lead with 12 seconds left.

Menner finished the night with 28 points and 11 rebounds, while Aaron Woods added 11 points and six rebounds.

Chris Curtis led the Pirates with 19 points and seven rebounds. Williams added 10 points and five assists.

OCC returns to action on Friday at Cypress, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The Pirates' next home game will be on Frday, Jan. 23 against Riverside, also at 7:30.