HORNETS FEND OFF SAN DIEGO CITY

The No. 3 in state FC men's basketball squad traveled down to No. 7 San Diego City College on Saturday for an afternoon showdown and held off the Knights 61-58.

Playing on a floor that still reads "2017 Men's Basketball State Champions", a title that was nearly the Hornet's first under head coach Perry Webster. Fullerton and San Diego met in the state title game for the 2016-17 season. The Hornets lost on a last-second layup. Since that time, FC has won two state titles, four conference titles and has defeated San Diego City College six out of nine times including today.

It was a close game throughout that featured 10 ties and 13 lead changes with neither team taking more than a 6-point lead. All tied up 26-26 with two-minutes left in the first half, Justin Davis drained a deep three-pointer and Addy G'Bye followed it up with a three of his own putting Fullerton up 32-26. SDCC's Micah Brickner knocked down a three-pointer to cut the lead in half, but G'Bye dropped another trey to finish the half at 35-29.

The battle continued in the second half with both teams matching one another point for point. By the 3:44 mark, the Knights had squeaked ahead 56-55, until Justin Davis found Darvelle Wyatt under the basket for an easy two. Joe Grahovac added a layup with a over a minute left in the game giving FC a 59-56 edge, but a jumper by the Knight's Logan Huston cut the lead back down to a point. The FC defense kept San Diego City in check forcing the Knights to take tough shots, while Grahovac scored on another shot down low with 22 seconds for a 61-58 lead. With a few ticks left on the clock, San Diego's only option was for a three-pointer to tie it up, however the Hornet defense did not allow anyone to get open as the final shot was taken very deep and bounced off the backboard as the Hornets walked off the court with a win.

Joe Grahovac and Jaqari Miles were the scoring leaders for the game with 16 points each. Grahovac added 8 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 2 assists, while had 4 rebounds with an assist and a steal. Addy G'Bye had 14 points with 6 rebounds, and Darvelle Wyatt added 7 points with 7 rebounds, had 3 assists, and 3 steals.  

Up Next: The No. 3 Hornets (7-1 overall) will bring it back home this Tuesday, December 3rd when Palomar College (3-3) come to the Nest for another non-conference matchup. Tipoff is at 6:00 pm.

*Photo by Jim McCormack