Mission Viejo, CA- The Cypress College men's basketball team (8-4, 0-1 OEC) tipped off OEC play last night when they traveled to Saddleback College (7-5, 1-0 OEC) to take on the Gauchos. The Chargers fell in a defensive battle 54-43.

The Charger's were coming off a loss at home, 93-78, in which Moorpark knocked down 19 three pointers in a fast paced back and forth game last Friday.

Wednesday night would be a much different game script as Cypress went into halftime with a 14-13 lead in a hard fought defensive battle. Neither team could get anything going on the offensive end with the teams shooting a combined 9/45 from the field.

As the second half picked up, Aaron Edison got the scoring started hitting a three pointer as Demetri Mariolis followed up with one of his own. The defensive battle seesawed back and forth when big man Devion Smith Coleman tied up the game 25-25 with 13 minutes to play. The Gauchos responded on the next possession converting on a layup and one. This play sparked Saddleback as they went on a 22 to 6 run the next 9 minutes to shut the door on Cypress.

The Chargers won the turnover battle, but Saddleback dominated in the paint scoring 28 points leading Saddleback to their first OEC win of the year 54-43.

Up Next: After a rough start to conference play, men's basketball will look to bounce back Friday night at Don Johnson Gymnasium when they take on Santiago Canyon at 5:00pm.

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