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Santa Ana Defeats Number Three Riverside 81-75
SANTA ANA, CA - Santa Ana College (SAC) defeated Riverside College with a combination of tight defense and timely three point shots Wednesday night in an Orange Empire Conference men's basketball game.
The first half was a tight battle between both teams with before Riverside took a 20-12 lead with just over 12 minutes left in the half. The Dons battled back over the next eight minutes as they cut the lead to just one at 28-27 with five minutes left. Riverside extended its lead to as many as seven before SAC scored five straight points before half time to cut the lead to 40-38.
Riverside jumped out to an early seven-point lead but the Dons hung close and eventually took the lead at 50-49 on a three point shot by Tyre Thompson (Centennial HS) six minutes into the second half. The Dons held the lead for about five minutes before Riverside hit a three-point shot of its own to take the lead back.
The teams traded the lead back and forth up to a 72-72 tie with one minute left in the game when D'Andre Denan (Long Beach Jordan HS) hit a three pointer from the corner to give the Dons the lead for good.
Denan led all scorers with 20 points in the game. Thompson added another 18 points while Mike Hernandez (Whittier HS) scored 12 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists.
The victory improves the Dons record to 21-7 overall and 5-4 in the OEC while Riverside, that came into the game ranked third in the state, falls to 25-3 and 8-2 in conference.
NEXT: Orange Coast at Santa Ana, Friday February 9, at 7:30 pm
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