Saddleback Wins In OT, To Play ELAC For State
NORWALK – Saddleback College survived with late-game heroics and beat Canada College, 75-68 in overtime, at the California Community College men's basketball state championships, Friday at Cerritos College and will play East Los Angeles for the state title on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Saddleback (32-2) will try for its third state title while East Los Angeles (22-10) is in its first championship final game in school history.
A few Gauchos saved the day – and extended the season – namely Dusty Baker, Conor Clifford, and Brandon Fagins.
The crowd-pleasing and entertaining 45 minutes, came down to Baker's buzzer-beating long-range 3-pointer, Clifford's clutch free throws, and a big block and rebound by Fagins to finish the upset-minded Canada Colts.
Saddleback freshman guard Dusty Baker (Tesoro HS, Rancho Santa Margarita) sank an improbable 3-pointer from 30 feet to tie the game, 63-63, with 0.4 seconds in regulation. He found an open shot in rhythm – deep behind the right arc, as his bench held its collective breath before celebrating from across the court.
"I'm confident I can make every shot," said Baker, who was 2-for-8 from the floor before his big shot.
"I knew once it left my hands it was going in. We just needed to get the game into overtime. We needed five more minutes. It was a great team effort."
With 45.2 seconds left in overtime, Saddleback's 7-foot center Conor Clifford sank a pair of free throws for a 70-68 lead.
Then it was Fagins' turn. As Canada's Crisshawn Clark drove for a quick game-tying basket, Fagins swatted the attempt and teammate Andrew Bournes recovered the rebound before getting fouled. Bournes sank one of two free throws for a 71-68 lead and essentially sealed the win.
Canada's next 3-point attempt was off the mark, and Fagins grabbed his final rebound.
Clark paced the Colts (24-7) with a game-high 23 points before fouling out in overtime.
Saddleback, down 13 points midway through the second half, rallied down the stretch. With 10.3 second remaining, Josh Mishler's rebound and put-back resulted in a three-point play as he was fouled – and the Colts lead was cut to 61-60.
Canada's Rohndell Goodwin sank a pair of free throws with 9.7 seconds left for a 63-60 lead before Baker's heroic shot.
As Canada opened a double-digit lead in the second half, Clark's layup with 11:24 to play gave the Colts their biggest lead at 46-33. Over the next five minutes, the Gauchos battled back, cutting it to 51-47 with 7:38 left on a pair of free throws by Baker.
After finishing 5-22 last season, Canada was the state's Cinderella story under second-year coach Mike Reynoso.
Canada led at halftime, 32-22, despite shooting 38.7 percent from the floor. S
addleback struggled by shooting 29.6 percent and committing nine turnovers.
The Colts opened an 8-2 lead following consecutive 3-pointers by Clark and Rodrigo Puliceno.
The Gauchos led briefly, 17-16, after a layup by Clifford with 6:59 left in the first half. But the Colts closed the half on a 16-5 run, highlighted by another Puliceno 3-pointer – leading to a 32-22 lead at the break.
Clifford led the Gauchos in scoring with 20 points and seven boards, while Baker finished with 16 points.
Canada finished the Coast Conference North Division in third place, and entered the playoffs with a No. 10 seed – meaning all postseasons victories came on the road.
Saddleback was champions of the Orange Empire Conference and earned the
Canada was making its first trip to the CCCAA state championships since 1994, while Saddleback has been a perennial state power – winning the title in 2002 under Bill Brummel and in 2010 under current coach Andy Ground.South region's No. 2 seed.