MEN'S BASKETBALL: FULLERTON FENDS OFF LASERS
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Irvine Valley (12-12, 3-6) | 17 | 34 | 51 |
|
FULL (19-6, 8-1) | 30 | 26 | 56 |
The Fullerton basketball squad properly defended their home court on Friday night holding off Irvine Valley College 56-51.
After taking a hard conference loss at Cypress last Friday night, the Hornets bounced back with solid OEC wins over Santa Ana (106-72 Wednesday) and IVC tonight.
The win keeps FC in the race for first place in the Orange Empire Conference with a record of 8-1 OEC and 19-6 overall. The Laser loss lands them at 3-6 OEC and 12-12 overall.
The game got off to a slow start with FC taking a 5-4 lead at the 13:45 mark. The Hornets turned it on at 7:39 when Ian Fox gave them an 18-7 lead on a slashing lay-in. By halftime, Fullerton owned a 30-17 lead.
The Hornets came out blazing in the first part of the second half taking a 20-point lead at 13:41. It did not last as FC could not take care of the ball committing 17 turnovers to IVC's 9.
Fullerton did not help themselves going over five minutes without scoring. This allowed the Lasers to crawl back into the game 52-47 at 1:23 after an Anthony Hernandez three-pointer.
With just over a minute left in the game Zuri Williams scored on a layup getting IVC within three (52-49).
With only 9 seconds left in regulation, the Lasers were forced to foul sending Kendall Lauderdale to the line. He made both. Fox was also forced to shoot from the line, with 3 seconds left, and hit both of his shots to ice the game.
Fullerton shot 52.4% from the field to Irvine's 36.6%, but turnovers nearly cost FC the game as they turned it over a total of 23 times.
Ian Fox scored a total of 13 points for the Hornets. Fox also recorded 6 steals and 3 assists. Kendall Lauderdale contributed 10 points with 4 rebounds and Jordan Watkins put in 8 points with 6 rebounds. Nick Anderson had 7 points with 5 rebounds.
Up Next: The Hornets will play at home on Friday, February 10th against Riverside City College. Tip off will be at 5:00 pm. It will also be sophomore night where our second year players will be honored before the game. Come on out and support your Hornets!
