WELCOME BACK WIN

The No. 1 (south) Fullerton College had its home opener on Wednesday night against No. 19 Santa Monica College and beat back the Corsairs 91-68.

The Hornets came out firing on all cylinders opening the first half with a 14-3 run that began with a jumper by Joe Grahovac along with a three-pointer by Addy G'Bye. By the 8-minute mark, FC had overwhelmed the Corsairs with a 29-7 lead that was capped off by Jaqari Miles' three-pointer. Three Grahovac alley-oop dunks later, and the Hornets found themselves well ahead of Santa Monica at the half 44-26.

Addy G'Bye hit his third three-pointer at in the 16th minute of the second half giving FC a 49-32 advantage, but SMC took advantage of a few offensive mistakes by Fullerton pulling within nine points (51-42) by 14:54. That's as close as the Corsairs would get as the Hornets got back in gear scoring at will with each possession. Near the game's end, with over a minute left, Fullerton landed its largest lead of 28 that was finished off by JQ Strong's three-pointer. 

As a team, FC shot 53.5% from the field to Santa Monica's 39.2%. Fullerton owned the boards as well out-rebounding SMC 41-30 and scored 22 points from 18 turnovers.

Jaqari Miles came off the bench to lead all scorers in the game with 26 points. Joe Grahovac and Addy G'Bye both scored 17 points each, while JQ Strong put up 12 points. Kairi Shepard, Darvelle Wyatt, and Justin Davis all helped spread the ball around dishing out 6 assists each.

Up Next: The Hornets (3-1 overall) will play their next one at home this Saturday, November 16th when No. 4 Moorpark College comes to the Nest for a big mathcup. Tipoff is at 1:00 pm.

*Photo by Jim McCormack