ROUNDING INTO THIRD!

The No. 1 seed in the south Hornets flew past the No. 17 Jags of Southwestern College on Saturday night 70-67 moving Fullerton to Round 3 of the 3C2A Southern California Regional Playoffs.

Fullerton's top-rated defense (62.7 point a game allowed) did the trick holding off Southwestern's surging offense (80 points per game) earning the right to play Chaffey College in the Nest next Saturday for chance to advance to the 3C2A State Dance for the third straight season, 5^th total in head coach Perry Webster's 9^th season.

It was a back-and-forth first half that featured 5 lead changes and 1 tie. Although Fullerton pulled ahead in the last minute of the half (31-23) and then landed a big blow with an 18-point lead (41-23) within the first five minutes of the second half, Southwestern still had some gas in the tank making a big comeback late in the game. In fact, it was too late. Southwestern pulled within 5-points (66-61) with 29 seconds left in regulation. With no other choice but to foul the Hornets sending them to the line, FC hit 4 out of 6 free throws giving the team just to enough to keep the Jaguars at bay. Up 70-64 with 2 seconds left, Southwestern did knock down a meaningless three-pointer to end the game, but Fullerton already had it in the bag.

As a team, the Hornets out-shot the Jags 47.2% to 41.4%, and had 17 points off the bench to Southwestern's 4 points.

Addy G'Bye was the team points leader with 18. Joe Grahovac had a double-double night with 16 points and 11 boards. He also added 3 blocks. Darvelle Wyatt chipped in with 8 points, while Justin Davis put up 7 points with 7 rebounds, had 4 assists, and 4 steals.

UP Next: The No. 1 Hornets (27-3 overall) will host SoCal Regional Finals (Round 3) on Saturday, March 8th at 6:00 pm when the No. 9 Chaffey Panthers come to the Nest. The Panthers clawed past No. 8 West LA College Saturday night 86-71. The winner of this contest moves on to the 3C2A State Tournament at Mt. San Antonio College March 13-16.

Can't make the game in person? Watch it live and free here.

The SoCal Regional Bracket

*Photo by Jim McCormack