Santa Ana – For the second time this season, the Cypress men's basketball team (10-14, 3-6 OEC) upset Santa Ana, this time on the road versus the second-place Dons (13-11, 5-4 OEC), winning 76-68 in overtime.
Cypress held a slim 31-28 lead after the first half, but Santa Ana was able to go ahead 36-35 with just over 14 minutes to play. The two teams traded ties and leads as the Dons went up 61-56 with 3:42 remaining in regulation. Cypress cut the Dons' lead to three after a lay-up by Jerrod Cook (61-58) and then tied the game after a huge three by Israel Barrera, which sent the game to overtime.
The Chargers stormed out to an 11-point lead (74-63) thanks in part to a three by Jordan Fleck and another by Barrera. Santa Ana scored four straight points to cut Cypress' lead to 74-68, but Barrera's lay-up with 23 seconds to play would seal a Charger victory, 76-68.
Fleck and Cook each tallied a team-high 15 points, while Jeremy Wright and Barrera each scored 14. Isaiah Taylor led the team in rebounding with 9 as he missed a double-double by one board and one point.
On the season, the Chargers went 2-1 against the Dons, having lost by one point in the championship game of the San Diego Mesa Tournament (12/30), while defeating them at home 58-45 (1/16). Cypress had not defeated Santa Ana since the 2012 season when the Chargers swept both conference games.
With the win over Santa Ana, the Chargers reached the double-digit win plateau for the first time since the 2010-11 season when the team went 16-12 overall. They also have notched three Orange Empire wins this season, a feat which has not been accomplished since the 2010-11 season.
Cypress will conclude its road schedule on Thursday when the team heads to now second-place Irvine Valley (13-11, 6-3 OEC) for a 5:00 pm contest.
