SPLITTING UP NORTH

The No. 1 (South) Hornets traveled up to Northern California over the weekend to test their skills against the north's ranked teams in No. 9 Yuba and No. 2 West Valley.

In the first game on Friday, Fullerton took on Yuba College at West Valley's Bob Burton Court and edged past the 49ers 79-76. The first half of the game was a tight one as both teams shadowed one another point for point. As halftime drew near, Yuba pulled ahead with a 45-40 lead, but by the 14th minute Christian Watson scored down low giving the Hornets a 54-49 advantage. Up 78-73 with 4 seconds left in regulation, the 49ers knocked down a deep three-point-shot pulling within two points. Fouled and forced to the free throw line, Jaqari Miles missed the first shot but hit the second for a 79-76 score. Yuba tried to toss up a prayer shot with 2.9 seconds but was unsuccessful.

Christian Watson was Fullerton's scoring leader with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Joe Grahovac followed up with 9 points and 6 rebounds. Jaqari Miles (6 assists) and Shawn Woodson also put up 9 points, while Darvelle Wyatt help out with 8 points.

On Saturday, the Hornets had a tough opponent in West Valley College, which was last season's undefeated state champions. Fullerton ended up losing this one by a slim margin of 72-69. Another back-and-forth battle in the first half, FC found behind 28-24 by halftime. By the 13 minute-mark in the second half, the Hornets tied the game up 37-37 on a nice pass from Justin Davis to Joe Grahovac, who scored from under the basket. Fullerton soon turned the tables with a 46-41 lead over the Vikings at 9:37. With just over 5 minutes left in the game, West Valley got past FC 55-53 and did not let go of the lead for the remainder of the game.

Joe Grahovac led all scorers with 25 points, brought down 12 rebounds, and had 3 blocks. Jaqari Miles scored 21 points and Addy G'Bye put up 9.   

Up Next: The Hornets (2-1 overall) will host their first home game of the season on Wednesday, November 13th when Santa Monica College comes to the Nest. Tipoff is at 6:00 pm. Can't make it to the game? Watch is live and free here.