Big second half propels Cats

The Saddleback men's basketball team won its fourth straight game with an 86-71 victory at Mt. San Jacinto College on Saturday night in San Jacinto. The Bobcats finished strong in beating a previously undefeated Mt. San Jacinto team.

Saddleback entered on a three-game winning streak and Mt. San Jacinto was undefeated so it figured to be a good game on paper.  It turned out to be a great game for the Bobcats as a strong finish propelled them to a win and gave the Eagles their first loss of the season.

Saddleback started strong and grabbed a 12-5 lead in the first 4:25 of the game as Charlie Stallings had a hot start with six points during the run.  Later in the half Christopher Williams made a layup and the Bobcats' lead grew to nine at 16-7.

Mt. San Jacinto chipped away at the lead as the Saddleback offense went quiet.  The Eagles completely turned the tables and had a 31-23 lead as the Bobcats went 1-for-12 from the field with a handful of turnovers over a six-minute stretch.  Saddleback would eventually gain back control and head to the locker room down 35-33 with 20 minutes remaining.

Mt. San Jacinto came out of the break and nailed a three-pointer to grab a five-point advantage on their opening possession.  From that point forward, Saddleback and Mt. San Jacinto traded baskets as neither team could stretch out a lead.  Mt. San Jacinto had an 66-65 lead with 4:18 remaining when the Bobcats finally made their move.  Saddleback took back the lead when Michael Bichel hit a shot from beyond the arc while being fouled with 3:34 left and the Bobcats never looked back, outscoring Mt. San Jacinto 21-5 over the final four minutes.  Saddleback made 11 straight free throws to close out the game as Mt. San Jacinto had no other options other than to foul.

Saddleback finished the night 24-of-29 from the free throw line while shooting 47% from the field.  The Bobcats were particularly hot in the second half, making 16-of-28 shots from the field.

Williams (pictured) finished with a team-high 23 points and four assists in the win.  Stallings added 20 points while Bichel finished with 15.

Saddleback is now 4-2 following the fourth straight win.  It is the first four-game winning streak for the program since the 2022-23 season when they won six straight during the middle of the season. 

Saddleback will look to make it five in a row when they host San Diego Mesa College on December 1 (5:00 PM).