Gray matters in close win

The Saddleback men's basketball team opened the new year with a 77-75 victory over Santa Ana College on Wednesday night in Santa Ana.  Jackson Gray buried a pair of three-pointers in the closing minute in guiding the Bobcats to the win.

Saddleback was looking for a victory to start the new year in order to keep an arm's length within the teams at the top of the standings.  The Bobcats secured the win against a Santa Ana squad that entered the night at 11-5 overall and tied with Saddleback in the standings.

Santa Ana started quickly, taking a 10-5 lead on Saddleback in the opening five minutes of the game as the Bobcats made just two of their first 10 shots.  The Bobcats finally got things turned around when Michael Bichel made a layup and Nikolas Grguric followed with a three-pointer on the next possession to tie the game at 10-10 with 14:23 remaining in the half. 

Saddleback would take its first lead of the game later in the half when Bichel and Grguric again teamed up with the same formula on back-to-back possessions for a 17-13 lead with 12:04 remaining. 

Later in the first half Saddleback made a surge when Jackson Gray made consecutive baskets to give the Bobcats a 26-22 lead.  Grguric again followed with a three-pointer as the Saddleback lead grew to 29-24 with under seven minutes remaining.  It was part of a run where the Bobcat defense held Santa Ana scoreless for close to 2.5 minutes.  Saddleback would head to the locker room at halftime with a 39-31 lead, as Grguric led the team with 11 points after making 3-of-6 shots from long range.

Saddleback started the second half the same way it ended the opening half when the defense clamped down on Santa Ana.  The Bobcats allowed the Dons just two points over the first four minutes and grabbed its biggest lead of the game when Ryan Huston buried a three-pointer to give Saddleback a 46-34 advantage. 

Santa Ana finally found its footing from that point forward, chiseling away at the lead.  The Dons went on a run as Saddleback had a hard time finding the bottom of the net.  The Bobcats went 1-for-8 from the field over a 6:27 span as Santa Ana whittled the lead down to four with under eight minutes remaining. The two teams would then play tight the rest of the way as the lead remained between four and seven points until the final four minutes of the game. 

Santa Ana continued to battle, tying the game with 2:11 on the clock when Jackson Brennan made a pair of free throws to even the game at 70-70.  The Dons would then take a three point lead when Kelvonte Ellis made a layup and completed a three-point play with 1:15 remaining in what was the first lead for Santa Ana since the 8:44 mark of the opening half.  Ellis would make another free throw with 48 seconds remaining to give the Dons a 74-70 lead as Santa Ana looked as if it were headed to its 12^th win of the season.

Saddleback then showed it still had a little magic left in the tank.  The Bobcats got a 3-pointer from Gray on the next possession to cut the deficit to 74-73 with 40 seconds remaining.  On the ensuing defensive possession, Saddleback again turned to its defense when Jaden Rahmaan stole a ball Camron Swist.  He then fed Gray for another three-pointer as the Bobcats turned the tables in the final minute for a 76-74 advantage.  Santa Ana would never recover as the Dons missed a pair of shots in the final seconds. 

Gray finished with a team-high 16 points, making 4-of-9 shots from beyond the arc.  The Bobcats made the best of things at the free throw line, making 13-of-15 for the night. 

Saddleback is now 8-8 overall and 2-2 in Orange Empire Conference play following the win.  The Bobcats are now alone in fifth place, one game behind four teams tied at the top of the standings.

Saddleback will play again at Fullerton College (14-2, 3-1) on Friday night at 6:00 PM.