Cats rally past Chargers in OEC opener

The Saddleback Bobcats rallied for a 70-68 win at Cypress College on Wednesday night in the Orange Empire Conference opener.  Atiba Taylor led the charge with 20 points in the win.

Saddleback faced some adversity in the opener  of OEC play when Cypress jumped out to a 38-28 lead at the intermission.  The Bobcats turned the ball over 10 times in the opening 20 minutes while Cypress shot 7-of-13 from beyond the arc.

Saddleback picked up the defense in the second half, holding the Chargers to 31% shooting in the final 20 minutes.  The Bobcats trailed by as many as 14 points with just under 16 minutes remaining when they turned a corner.  Saddleback ripped off six straight points after Nick Bowden made a layup to cut the deficit to 46-38 with 14:56 remaining. 

With 8:16 remaining, Saddleback trailed 55-47 when Jimuel Reyes drilled a three-pointer to cut the lead to five.  Less than two minutes later, Taylor was fouled in the act of shooting and cut the deficit to 57-54 with a pair of free throws. 

Later in the half, Taylor (pictured) made good from long range and the Cypress advantage was cut to two at 59-57 with only 4:18 remaining.  The teams traded baskets before Gerald Jones III finished off a three-point play as the Charger lead shrunk to one at 61-60.

Saddleback finally took the lead with under two minutes remaining when Reyes hammered home another three-pointer for a 63-61 lead with 1:49 remaining on the clock.  Cypress responded with a three-point play of their own when Ramiah Adedigba was fouled on a jumper with 1:27 remaining. 

Taylor then went to work and gave Saddleback the lead for good.  He first made a layup and was fouled with 1:13 remaining, completing the three-point play for a 66-64 lead.  The Bobcats then forced a turnover and Atiba made a layup for a 68-64 advantage with 1:00 left on the clock. 

Saddleback led 70-68 with under 20 seconds to play, but the Bobcats forced yet another turnover with three seconds remaining to secure the win.

Taylor finished with a game-high 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field.  Reyes chipped in 14 points and Jones III had 13 as Saddleback finished shooting 54.2% from the field.  Taylor led the Bobcats with seven rebounds. 

Saddleback improved to 8-4 overall and 1-0 in Orange Empire Conference play with the win.  The Bobcats will host Golden West College on Friday night at 5:00 PM