TO THE FINAL FOUR!

What began as dogfight ended in a boat-race as No. 1 (South) Fullerton College knocked out No. 4 (North) West Valley advancing to the Final Four 71-40.

The win puts Fullerton at the 30-win mark landing the team as one of the best in school history - 1953-54 (31-2), 1960-61 (32-2), 1968-69 (31-4), 1971-72 (33-3), 2005-06 (37-0), and 2018-19 (30-3). 

It was not a high-scoring first half, but the Hornets and Vikings battled it out on Thursday at West Hills College, Lemoore. FC took a 14-8 lead after the first ten minutes, but West Valley pulled within two (19-17) five minutes later. Impressive defense by the Hornets held WVC to a mere bucket for the rest of the half as Fullerton took a 26-19 lead into the break. It was one of the lowest first-half point totals of the season for FC's stout defense. They held Saddleback College to only 16 points back on January 13th.

The Hornets turned the game on a dime in the 14th minute of the second half. Fullerton was only up 34-30, but the team turned up the heat on West Valley with a 17-0 run that was capped off by a jumper by Sean Newman Jr. Fullerton did not let up pushing its lead to 32 (69-37) on a three-pointer by Coree Joseph with just under two minutes left in the game. With the game at hand, the Hornets ran out the clock and now moves on to the final four held this Saturday, March 11th.

Shaquil Bender had an great game slashing to the basket and hitting three's for 14 points. Sean Newman Jr. also helped lead the team with 14 points along with 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Kobe Newton put up 8 points with 4 rebounds, while RJ Banks and Mike Ofoegbu scored 7 points each.

Up Next: The No. 1 Hornets (30-1 overall) will play No. 3 in the South East LA College (27-3) on Saturday, March 11th at 1:00 pm. Fullerton beat East LA earlier in the season (Dec. 2) at home 91-81.

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