MEN'S BASKETBALL: AVC TOURNEY CHAMPS!

After a two-week period without a game, the Fullerton College men's basketball team was back in action at the Antelope Valley College Tournament this weekend winning it all by beating #19 Bakersfield College 62-60, #1 San Bernardino Valley College 73-72, and Antelope Valley 71-66.

Bakersfield vs. Fullerton

The #13 in state Hornets opened up the tourney against #19 Bakersfield College on Friday holding off the Renegades 62-60 in a back-and-forth nail-biter.

Bakersfield took a 23-13 lead with just over 7 minutes in the first half, and then Fullerton turned it on outscoring the Gades 15-4 taking a one-point lead (28-27) heading into the locker room at halftime.

In the second half, Fullerton widened their lead 38-29 at the 13:21 mark. With just over ten minutes left in the game, Bakersfield went on a 11-2 run tying the game up a 40 a piece. From there, the two teams danced back-and-forth garnering for position. With 3 seconds left in regulation, the scored was tied 60-60. Kenny Barnes took a pass from Dillon Riese and hit a jumper putting FC up by two. The Renegades had the ball knocked away on the in-bound pass giving Bakersfield a fraction of a second to launch a shot from midcourt. The ball sailed wide missing the basket giving the Hornets the win.

Sophomore guard Ian Fox played very well scoring a game-high 27 points for FC. Dillon Reise scored 16 points, brought down 9 boards, and had 2 assists. Kenny Barnes put up 10 points and had 5 rebounds. Kendall Lauderdale contributed with 5 rebounds. 

San Bernardino Valley vs. Fullerton

In the game against #1 in state San Bernardino Valley College (8-1), the Hornets survived with a victory over the top ranked team in the state as San Bernardino's Ja Morgan missed a layup as time expired helping Fullerton (6-2) reach the finals of the tournament.

The Hornets, which entered the game ranked 13th in the state, seemed to hold a comfortable lead, 72-64, with only two minutes remaining in the game, however, a 3-pointer and a couple of costly turnovers by Fullerton helped the Wolverines crawl their way back into the game to tie the score at 72-72 with 25 seconds remaining.

The Hornets' Dillon Reise made 1-of-2 free throws putting his team up by one when San Bernardino called timeout with three seconds remaining. A last second drive Morgan's shot landed just off the rim to preserve the victory for Fullerton giving the Wolverines their first loss of the season.­­­­­­

FC's Nick Anderson led the Hornets with 15 points bs delivered 4 assists. Dillon Reise had 13 points with 6 rebounds and Jonathan Ross dropped in 12 points with 5 rebounds. Kenny Barnes scored 10 points and Ian Fox contributed 8. 

Antelope Valley vs. Fullerton

On Sunday, the Hornets played in the championship game against host Antelope Valley College beating the Mauraders 71-66. Fullerton took a 23-15 lead with 5:56 left in the first half, but AVC made a strong push taking a 32-30 lead by halftime.

In the second half, Fullerton got off to a rocky start as the Mauraders piled it on taking a 45-33 lead at 16:23.

By 10:50, the Hornets took the lead 53-52 thanks to a couple of key three-pointers by Nick Anderson. FC managed to seperate themselves from AVC never relinquishing the lead winning their second tournament of the season. 

FC's Ian Fox led the team in scoring with 16 points. He also dished out 6 assists and had 4 rebounds. Dillon Reise had 14 points with 8 rebounds and Kenny Barnes scored 9 points with 3 rebounds. Nick Anderson had 12 points and Kendall Lauderdale put up 10 with 5 rebounds. Jonathan Ross scored 8 points and had 4 rebounds.

The 65th Gregg Anderson Memorial Tournament, hosted by AVC, is a highly competitive eight-team tourney that featured three top-ranked teams in the state: #1 San Bernardino Valley College, #13 Fullerton College, and #19 Bakersfield College.

AVC Tournament MVP: Nick Anderson
All-Tournament: Ian Fox, Kendall Lauderdale, and Dillon Reise

Up Next: The Hornets (7-2 overall) will play in the Riverside City College Holiday Tournament December 6-10.

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