RUNNING THE PLANKS

The No. 1 in SoCal Fullerton College basketball team welcomed Porterville College to the Hornets Nest on Tuesday night and forced the Pirates to walk the plank 72-62. 

A heavy storm moved through Southern California nearly keeping Porterville's basketball squad from making it over the Grapevine to Fullerton. Fortunately, the weather let up enough for the Pirates to make the trip as the game was almost postponed. 

It was not the sharpest game for the Hornets (3-0 overall), who did enough to secure the win against a tough and scrappy Porterville team (1-1). 

During the first twelve minutes of the game, both teams hit the floor running exchanging shots to a 19-19 tie, until Sean Newman Jr. drained a 3-pointer. The Hornets held on to the lead through the remainder of the first half, widening it at 36-29 thanks to a shot beyond the arc by Javon Jones with 2 seconds left. 

Fullerton remained on top during the second half with the Pirates doing their best to keep up the pace. By the eight-minute mark, FC took its largest lead of 13 when RJ Banks pulled up for another 3-pointer putting his team up 59-46. The Hornets did their job on the other side of the court keeping Porterville out of the game, and the Pirates had enough firepower and talent to climb back in it. Tonight, was not the night. 

It was not a great night of shooting for FC as the team only shot only 37.5% from the floor, while Porterville shot 41.1%. The Hornets did manage to hit 28.6% from the three-point-line to the Pirate's 20%. The difference-maker for Fullerton was points off turnovers with 15. 

Sean Newman Jr. had a game-high 20 points for Fullerton with 6 assists, and 4 rebounds. Shaquil Bender scored 14, had 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Javon Jones dropped in 13 points and RJ Banks had 12.   

Up Next: The Hornets (3-0 overall) travel north to Cero Coso College on Monday, November 14th for another non-conference game. Tipoff is at 5:00 pm.