With one game left in the regular season, the Orange Empire Conference standings are pretty much locked down.
Most had their eyes on either Saddleback or Fullerton to win the conference before the season began, but Orange Coast College (20-7 overall, 9-1 OEC) came out of nowhere winning the title, their first since 1979… before the OEC even began! The Pirates are second in the conference in points scored (877), first in blocks (3.4 bpg.), and first in steals (9.9 spg.).
Fullerton (20-7, 9-3) wrapped up their regular season on Tuesday night with an 89-83 win over Santiago Canyon. The Hornets finished the regular season (bye this Thursday) in second place after losing to Orange Coast College 83-74 in overtime last Friday night. FC led the OEC at the free throw line averaging 18.3 points a game.
As it now stands, there is a three-way tie at third place with Copper Mountain (19-9 overall), Riverside City (15-10), and Saddleback (14-13) all sitting at 6-5 in the OEC standings. The Fighting Cati and Gauchos will battle it out in Joshua Tree on Thursday, while the Tigers will travel to Cypress College.
Santiago Canyon leads the conference in scoring (89.7 ppg.), and has the top two scorers in the OEC in Rocket Henderson (26.5 ppg.) and Antoine Jenkins (25.9 ppg.). The Hawks have an impressive overall record of 18-9, and their conference record currently sits at 5-6 as they battle for a playoff berth.
Irvine Valley (3-8, 14-14), Santa Ana (3-9, 10-15), and Cypress (2-9, 8-18) round out the rest of the conference with IVC and Santiago Canyon fighting for a possible playoff spot Thursday night in Irvine. Santa Ana's season came to an end last night with a 66-61 win at Cypress.
With a proven track record, the Orange Empire Conference is one of the best in the state and has moved six teams to the post-season in the past. Stay tuned to see which teams make the cut.
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