Pirates fall in heartbreaker to Dons
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orange Coast (1-22, 0-9) | 41 | 39 | 80 |
|
Santa Ana (19-4, 5-4) | 33 | 49 | 82 |
SANTA ANA -- In a season that could easily be set on cruise control, the Orange Coast College men's basketball team is still fighting and on Wednesday, the Pirates pushed 19-win Santa Ana College all the way to the finish line before the Dons found a way to pull out an 82-80 Orange Empire Conference win.
Coast led throughout the entire game and carried a 16-point advantage with 7:58 remaining in the game before the Dons mounted a furious comeback, finally gaining their first and only lead on the last made basket of the game.
After Aaron De Santiago tied the game with 51 seconds remaining, OCC tried to regain the lead, but a missed 3-point attempt gave the ball back to the Dons with 23 seconds remaining. Finally, with just four seconds left, Christien Jimenez found Cameron Swist for the game-winning jumper, putting the Dons up, 82-80. A last-second 3-point attempt by the Pirates missed its mark at the buzzer, giving Santa Ana the comeback win.
The Pirates found success from beyond the arc, hitting a season-best 15 3-pointers on 34 attempts and also excelled from the free-throw line (17-of-21).
Chris Obiajulu led OCC with 15 points, five rebounds and five assists. Adrian Gonzalez and Kaz Hampton each added 14 points, while King Peterson contributed 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc.
De Santiago led the Dons with 25 points, while Serigne Saliou Mbaye added 12.
The Pirates will return to action on Friday at home, against Cypress College, beginning at 5 p.m.
