Cypress, CA- The Cypress College men's basketball team (4-1) defeated the visiting Rio Hondo Roadrunners (4-5) on Wednesday night, snapping Rio Hondo's 3 game win streak.
Freshman guard O'Shae Williams led the Chargers with 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 steals. Sophomore Jordan Fleck, although in foul trouble for much of the night, also scored 15 points on 5-6 shooting. Nolan Kelly and Zachary Perez chipped in 12 points each. Sophomore Forward Leo Maidana put in a game high 27 points to lead the Roadrunners and Justin Elliot added 16 points to go along with 8 rebounds.
The game went back and forth early. The Roadrunners continued to feed Maidana in the post while the Chargers relied heavily on the three point shot against Rio Hondo's tough zone defense. Maidana scored 13 of his 27 points on 4-7 shooting in the first half while the Chargers shot 6-19 from beyond the arc. Leading 26-25 with under a minute to go, Charger guard Zachary Perez knocked down a three assisted by Nolan Kelly to give Cypress a 29-25 lead at the half.
Cypress came out much more aggressive in the second half, continually attacking the rim. The Chargers first 20 points of the second half came either in the paint or at the foul line. The Roadrunners were able keep it close in the second half as Cypress had no answer for Maidana down low. However, Cypress shot 16-21 from the line in the second half while Rio Hondo struggled, making only 7-15. Up 54-51, Cypress captured all momentum when O'shae Williams stole the ball at half court before finishing a dunk with contact from the defender for a three point play. Rio Hondo was unable to answer the Cypress run as the Chargers went on to win 71-59.
The men's basketball team is back in action on Friday, December 4th in the Grossmont Tournament. Opponent and game time is TBA.
