Cats get late flurry from Burries

The Saddleback men's basketball team defeated Cypress College, 69-59, on Friday night inside the gymnasium.  James Burries had a big second half as the Bobcats pulled away at the end of the game.

Burries busted out for 29 points in the game, 20 of which came in the second half.  He was 8-of-10 from the field over the final 20 minutes of the game, including a pair of three-pointers that opened up a lead in the final minutes.

Saddleback led by three at the break and never trailed in the opening half.  The Bobcats opened up an 11-point lead in the first six minutes of the game after Burries scored an easy bucket for a 17-6 advantage.  Cypress then settled down after cold shooting to start, chipping away at the lead.  The Chargers got the lead down to two at 28-26 when Zion Jones made a three-pointer with 2:39 remaining in the opening frame.

Saddleback scored the first five points of the second half and looked as if they were going to run away and hide.  Cypress again proved to be resilient as the Bobcats went quiet from the outside.  The two teams would go scoreless for over four minutes before Cypress would finally break through and take a lead.  The Bobcats would end up going nearly seven minutes without a point, missing six straight shots while committing six turnovers. 

Saddleback finally got back on track with 7:24 remaining when Andre Speight made a layup to cut the Bobcat deficit to 46-48.  Speight would again get a layup on the next possession to tie the game at 48-48.

The two teams would go back and forth until the 3:15 mark when Burries drilled a three-pointer for a 59-56 advantage.  Two possessions later, Hayden Fletcher was fouled on a layup and completed a three-point play for a 62-56 lead with 1:38 remaining on the clock.  Burries then gave the Bobcats an eight point lead on an easy layup with 43 seconds remaining, putting the game out of reach for the Chargers. 

Saddleback is now 9-7 overall and 2-2 in Orange Empire Conference play.  The Bobcats will play again next Wednesday when they host Riverside City College.  Tip time is scheduled for 5:00 PM inside the gymnasium.