Zerpa guides Bobcats out of three-game slide

The Saddleback men's basketball team ended a three-game losing streak with a 96-92 win at Golden West College on Wednesday in Huntington Beach.   Sebastian Zerpa scored a season-high 25 points as the Bobcats improved to 11-7 overall.

Saddleback was desperate for a win after losing three straight games where they had a lead in the second half.  The Bobcats didn't let a fourth get away, scoring the second most points in a game all season and the most since early December.

Zerpa easily had his best game of the season.  He came off the bench to score 25 points against Golden West on Wednesday, topping a previous season-high of 12 points against Santa Monica on November 17.  Zerpa finished 10-of-15 from the field, also making 4-of-5 from the free throw line. 

Zerpa was one of three players to come off the bench against Golden West as the Bobcats played just eight players in the game.  Charles Erving was also impressive, leading Saddleback with nine rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench.

Saddleback led by one at the half but quickly found themselves down by eight points in the second half as they couldn't buy a basket in the opening 6.5 minutes.  The Bobcats finally broke out of the slump when Erving was fouled on a basket, completing a three-point play to cut the Rustler lead to 65-60.  Erving then made a layup with 9:57 remaining to cut the Golden West lead to 67-66.  The Bobcats finally tied the game with 8:20 remaining when Zerpa made a shot and was fouled in the process, completing a three-point play.  All three scoring plays were part of an 8-0 run as Golden West failed to score over a two-minute span.

Saddleback expanded the lead to seven points when Nick Bowden buried a three-pointer with 4:27 remaining for an 83-76 lead.  The Bobcats would equal the seven-point lead two more times down the stretch after Elijah Al-Debaran nailed a pair of three-pointers in the final minutes.

Saddleback improved to 11-7 overall and 3-3 in Orange Empire Conference play with the win.  The Bobcats will play their third game in five days when they host Santiago Canyon College on Friday night at 5:00 PM.