FINE TEAM WIN OVER THE HAWKS

The No. 4 FC basketball team hosted No. 20 Santiago Canyon for the lone first-place slot in the Orange Empire Conference standings and pulled off a 78-70 win over the Hawks.

Both teams came into the game with identical records (12-3 overall, 3-0 OEC), but it was the Hornets who came out on top with a surging effort late in the second half. 

Fullerton took an 11-3 lead in the opening minutes of the game, but the Hawks came to play flipping the score 16-15 that was capped by a layup by Kai Smith. With the score tied at 27 each, the Hornets slipped ahead with a 13-8 run that ended with a nice drive to the bucket by Christian Watson. When the dust settled, FC owned a 40-35 lead at the half. 

The second half was not a walk in the park for the Hornets as Santiago Canyon snapped back with a 47-42 edge by the 16th minute. Alex Archer put Fullerton back on top 48-47 with a deep three two minutes later. The game continued to be a lead-changing affair (10 ties, 12 leads changes), until FC's Jeremiah Davis dropped in two on a layup putting his team ahead 68-66 in the 5th minute. From there, the Hornets took off on another run taking a 12-point advantage with less than a minute left sealing the team's lone first-place standing in the Orange Empire Conference.

For the third consecutive game, Jeremiah Davis led the Hornets in scoring with 16 points. He also added 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Christian Watson also played a key role in the win with 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. Jaden Byers equaled Watson with 11 points (7-8 free throws), and RJ Banks chipped in with 10 points. Alex Archer scored 8 points, Justin Davis had 7, and Shawn Woodson had 6.

Up Next: The No. 4 Hornets (13-3 overall, 4-0 OEC) will host Orange Coast College (9-6 overall, 3-0 OEC) on Wednesday, January 10th at 6:00 pm.