Saddleback men’s and women’s basketball victorious in Riverside

The Gauchos' men's basketball team, ranked 14th in the CCCAAA state poll, took the lead in the Orange Empire Conference last Wednesday after defeating the Riverside City College Tigers, 74-65, at Cal Baptist University.

Saddleback trailed early in the second half, 36-35, but an 18-1 pulled them ahead for good.

Overall, offense shot an incredible 60 percent from the field while the defense held the Tigers to a 39 percent shooting with 19 for 49.

The stars of the game were all freshman. Forward Josh Smith scored 19 points, leading with 10 rebounds and chalking up three steals. Miles Green, point guard, scored 17 points, including two successful 3-pointers. Guard Darnell Taylor added 16 points to the total as well as leading assists.

The women's basketball team also claimed defeat against the Tigers, 55-48, with a 10-0 second-half run last Wednesday. Saddleback's women's basketball, the team is now 18-4 overall and 4-2 in conference play.

Sophomore Raven Gammage scored 21 points. The 5-foot-4 guard comes from Eastern Arizona College where she played last year. Shalae Edwards, hailing from South Carolina, scored 20 points, 11 rebounds and grabbed four steals.

Both teams play Santa Ana College tonight at Saddleback. Tip off for the women is 5:30 p.m. followed by the men's game at 7:30 p.m. in the gymnasium.