MEN'S BASKETBALL: A FINE SEASON COMES TO AN END

The #6 Hornets hit the road against #3 Chaffey College on Wednesday night for the SoCal Semi-Finals and lost a close one 73-71 in overtime.

The game opened very evenly with both teams matching one another shot for shot. The game was tied up at 17 a piece at 7:12. From there, the Panthers made their move separating themselves with a 16-6 run that gave them a 33-23 by the end of the half.

The Panthers came out in the second half taking their largest lead 37-25, but the Hornets kept chipping away. By the 11:50 mark, Fullerton came within one of the Panthers (44-43) on a couple of free throws by Ian Fox. The game turned into a dog- fight with both teams battling for momentum. The pendulum seemed to swing Chaffey's way with 1:23 left as they took a 65-60 lead, but Fox struck again with a pair of free throws. Soon after, Julian Richardson hit a three-pointer to tie the game up at 65 with 55 seconds left. Both teams had opportunities to score in the final seconds, but they both came up empty sending the game into overtime.

With a minute left in overtime, the game was tied 69-69. Fullerton's Isaiah Clark gave his team the lead grabbing an offensive rebound and dunking the ball. Chaffey's Victor Clark tied it back up at 71 on a layup with 23 seconds left. With six seconds left, FC's Richardson missed a shot in the paint. Chaffey's Clark took the rebound and quickly ran down the length of the court for a coast-to-coast lay-in giving the Panthers the lead with 1.5 seconds left. The Hornet's Blake McBride attempted a deep three-pointer and missed as the final second ticked to zero.

The game featured 9 ties and 5 lead changes with the Hornets out-shooting the Panthers 45.8% to 40.8%. Fullerton was 5-18 (27.8%) from beyond the arc to Chaffey's 8-25 (32%). Under the basket, both teams had an equal amount of boards at 37.

Kenny Barnes led Fullerton with 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals. Fox scored 19 and Clark had 14 points with 11 rebounds. Richardson had 12 points.

Led by first -year head coach Perry Webster, the Hornets had a fantastic and very successful season. Fullerton won 22 games and was ranked as one of the top ten teams throughout the entire season. FC also made a strong run at the Orange Empire Conference title taking a close second place (9-3) tying with district rival Cypress College. Congratulations to the entire Fullerton College basketball program on a fine season with many more to come.