Chargers Fall to Tigers in SoCal Regional, 70-53

By Wes McCurtis

RIVERSIDE, CA – The Cypress College men's basketball team saw their season come to an end in the opening round of the CCCAA Southern California Regional on Wednesday night. The Chargers (13-15, No. 20 seed) fell to Riverside City College (22-8, No. 13 seed) 70-53 at RCC's Arthur N. Wheelock Gymnasium.

Pascal Evans recorded his third triple-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. O'Shae Williams scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed 5 rebounds.

Andre Wilson and Brae Ivey led the way for the Tigers. Wilson finished with a team-high 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Ivey finished with 12 points and a game-high 7 assists.

The Chargers began the game with tremendous energy, jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the first minute of action, but the Tigers quickly answered with a 16-0 run to take an 11-point lead with 14:09 left in the half. Cypress continued to battle, but was unable to capitalize on good scoring opportunities. The Chargers shot a dismal 27.6% from the field and 53.3% from the foul line in the first half as the Tigers entered the break with a 41-26 lead.

Riverside seemingly put the game away early in the second half when a Brandon Thomas 3-pointer gave the Tigers a 55-32 lead with 15:22 remaining. However, the Chargers responded with a 13-2 run led by 10 consecutive points from Williams, which cut the lead to 12. A Brennon Palmer layup with just over 3:00 remaining made it a 10-point game, but the Chargers were unable to get over the hump. Riverside ended the game with a 7-0 run.

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