Shorthanded Pirates topple Tigers, 81-66

COSTA MESA -- With the squad down to single digits, the Orange Coast College men's basketball team shrugged off the adversity and pulled of a solid 81-66 Orange Empire Conference win over visiting Riverside City College on Wednesday night inside the Peterson Gym.

With bumps, bruises and flu bugs up and down the roster, the Pirates (9-6, 3-0 in the OEC) still took care of business behind the steady 1-2 punch of sophomores Sam Hunter and Cody Aquino.

Hunter finished the night with a team-best 27 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Aquino stated the night with 11 straight points and finished the game with 19 points and three steals in spite of foul trouble throughout the game. 

Off the bench, Keon Young picked up 12 big points, while Zach Jones added 11 points to go with a team-best six rebounds.

For the Tigers (3-12, 0-3), Darius McClain led the way with 24 points, while Decon Toliver added 16 points and 10 rebounds. The rest of the Tigers finished 8-for-30 from the floor (26.6 percent).

The Pirates trailed 5-3 in the opening minutes of the game and never trailed the rest of the way as Coast pulled away in the first half and never looked back.

Leading 8-7, Coast went on a 17-8 run to grab an 11 point advantage, 25-15. Riverside was held off the scoreboard for the next four minutes and the lead grew to 31-15.

Riverside, which trailed by as many as 17 (41-24) with 1:27 remaining managed a mini-run to close out the half and trailed 41-29 at the break.

The Tigers got to within nine early in the second half, but that would be it for any thoughts of a comeback as the Pirates regained a comfortable lead and cruised to victory from there. OCC's defense helped force 19 RCC turnovers, while Coast shot a very steady 32-of-61 from the floor (52.5%). 

The Pirates will return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 10 at Fullerton College, beginning at 6 p.m. OCC's next home game is on Friday, Dec. 12 against Saddleback, also at 6 p.m.