Bobcats take home third place trophy

The Saddleback men's basketball team finished in third place at the Alvin Hunter Classic on Sunday after an overtime win against the host team in San Bernardino.  The Bobcats had a couple of big performances off the bench in improving to 4-2 overall for the year.

San Bernardino Valley jumped out to a huge lead.  The Wolverines led 13-1 in the opening minutes after the Bobcats came out ice cold.  Saddleback then chipped away at the lead over the final 15 minutes of the half and trailed 40-35 at the intermission. 

The second half started the same way as San Bernardino Valley scored the first six points in extending the lead to 46-35 over the first 2.5 minutes.  From that point forward, Saddleback outplayed the Wolverines and finally found their stroke.

James Burries started the charge by making two free throws to cut the lead to 46-37.  It was the start of a huge half for Burries, who scored 17 points over the final 17.5 minutes and a game-high 32 points for the day.  Burries made 3-of-7 shots from long range in the second half while going 6-for-6 from the free throw line.

Saddleback trailed 64-54 with under nine minutes remaining when they finally made their move.  The Bobcats ripped off eight straight points to cut the deficit to two.  Burries started the streak with a three-pointer and Jimuel Reyes buried another with 7:13 remaining to cut the San Bernardino Valley lead to two.  Saddleback cut the deficit to one with 5:26 remaining when Elijah Al-Debaran drilled a three-pointer.  The Bobcats then took their first lead of the game with 2:53 remaining when Reyes connected from long range for a 73-71 advantage.  The two teams would finish the second half tied at 75-75. 

San Bernardino Valley started the overtime just like it had started the first two halves, taking a lead on the opening possession when Sebastian Mendoza nailed a three-pointer.  The Bobcats quickly answered, with Al-Debaran doing the same. 

Saddleback took its biggest lead of the game at the 1:29 mark when Reyes connected from long range for an 86-82 lead.  Burries then took over down the stretch, making a tip-in basket with 36 seconds remaining and then hammering home a thunderous dunk for a six-point lead with 20 seconds on the clock.

Saddleback was red hot from long distance the entire game, making 15-of-29 shots from beyond the arc.  In addition to Burries finishing with 32 points, Al-Debaran also came off the bench to score 21.  The duo were a combined 9-of-17 from three-point range for the day.  Burries also led all players with 10 rebounds for the game.

Saddleback is now 4-2 overall for the season.  The Bobcats will host Victor Valley College on Wednesday evening in the home-opener.  Tip time is scheduled for 7:00 PM.