OEC TOURNAMENT SEMIFINAL: FULLERTON TAKES DOWN SANTA ANA IN OT

The No. 1 seeded Hornets did their job defeating the No. 5 Santa Ana College Dons in overtime at home Wednesday night 87-82 in the semifinal game of the Orange Empire Conference Tournament.

Fullerton (25-3 overall, 13-2 OEC) hits the 25-win mark after avenging its loss to Santa Ana back on January 24th and will now host Santiago Canyon (23-5, 13-2) for the Orange Empire Conference championship. Meanwhile, the Dons fall to 17-12 overall and 7-9 in the OEC.

It was a packed house that had many excited fans cheering loudly for both teams. The game itself was action-packed with 7 ties and 2 lead changes. The theme of the game was zombie-like in that Hornets would take a lead, and then the Dons would come back from the dead. In the 7th minute, Fullerton was up by 11 points (28-17) and looking to expand its lead, but by the halftime break Joe Grahovac's bucket only had given the Hornets a 6-point (40-34) advantage.

Santa Ana clung within 5 points throughout most of the second half, until FC pushed ahead 74-66 on a drive to the hoop by Jackson Hopps at 4:38. The Dons rose from the dead again and tied the game up 76-76 with 30 seconds left in regulation and the game went into overtime.

In OT, Cameron Swist knocked down a jumper putting the Dons on top 80-78, however the Hornets flipped the script with 29 seconds left on Joe Grahovac's spin move to the rim putting his team up 84-82. Darvelle Wyatt's free throw gave Fullerton an 85-2 lead with 19 seconds on the clock. A missed three-pointer by Santa Ana gave FC the ball. Justin Davis was quickly fouled and sent to the line. Hitting both free throws, Davis iced the game for the Hornets helping his team to the OEC Championship game.  

Joe Grahovac had a big night scoring a season-high 32 points with 8 rebounds and 3 blocks. Jaqari Miles scored 16 points with 4 rebounds, while Davelle Wyatt chipped in with 12 points and 7 rebounds. Addy G'Bye scored 10 points and Jackson Hopps dropped in 9 points for the win.

Up Next: The No. 1 seeded Hornets and No. 2 Santiago Canyon College will battle it out for Orange Empire Conference title this Friday, February 21st in the Nest at 6:00 pm. Come out and support your Hornets for this huge game!

The 2025 OEC Tournament Bracket