RD 1 OF THE OEC TOURNAMENT: FULLERTON SINKS OCC PIRATES

In the first-ever Orange Empire Conference Tournament, No. 1 seeded Fullerton moves on to the second round after handling No. 8 Orange Coast College 93-71.

With the win, the Hornets are now 24-3 in the overall standings and 13-2 in the OEC. Orange Coast takes a step back at 5-23 overall and sits at 1-14 in the OEC.

Fullerton's Addy G'Bye got things started early draining a three-pointer for the first bucket. From there, the Hornets took off on a 17-4 run for a 20-4 lead by the 12th minute. G'Bye hit a jumper with just under 4 minutes left in the first half giving his team a 42-20 advantage. When the halftime buzzer sounded, FC held a solid 51-29 lead.

Fullerton proceeded push forward in the second half landing its largest lead of 34 points at the 12th minute. The Pirates did their best to get back into the game pulling within 20 with 3 minutes left in regulation. The Hornets did not bat an eye and kept hitting their shots. Anthony Smith Jr. wrapped up the game with a layup and then dropped in a three-pointer as time ran out. 

Addy G'Bye and Shawn Woodson were the scoring leaders for Fullerton dropping 16 points each. G'Bye was 4-6 from beyond the arc, and Woodson added 2 rebounds and a steal. Joe Grahovac put up 12 points with 4 rebounds, and Jaqari Miles scored 9 with 2 boards. Anthony Smith Jr. scored 8 points, while Brayden Smith, Darvelle Wyatt, and Justin Davis each put up 6 each.

Up Next: Fullerton, the No. 1 seed in the Orange Empire Conference Tournament (24-3 overall, 13-2 OEC), will host No. 5 Santa Ana College (17-11, 7-8) for the second round of the OEC Tournament on Tuesday, February 19th. Tipoff is at 7:00 pm. Santa Ana stunned No. 4 Irvine Valley 67-59 Thursday night bumping the Lasers into consolation bracket. The 2025 OEC Tournament Bracket