at Riverside City College Tigers 81, Orange Coast College Pirates 56 (Orange Empire Conf.)

at Riverside City College Tigers 81, Orange Coast College Pirates 56 (Orange Empire Conf.)

Riverside City (16-6, 6-1 OEC) opened with leads of 7-0, 11-2 and 22-11 before posting a big lead of 39-25 with 1:12 remaining in the first half. Orange Coast had the last highlight of the opening stanza when freshman guard Jordan Pellum drained a 48-foot desperation three-pointer as the buzzer sounded, but RCC still led, 41-30.
In the second half, the Tigers built their biggest lead of the game at 79-52 with 43 seconds remaining when freshman guard Nate Robinson (Moreno Valley / Vista del Lago HS) canned a three-pointer for his only points of the game.
Freshman forward Anthony Rounds (Perris / Citrus Hill HS) led the Tigers with a co-game-high 16 points and added seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Bernard Ireland (Rialto / Eisenhower HS) added 11 points. Freshman forward Jeff Gonzalez (Riverside / Polytechnic HS) pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Mason Biddle (Riverside / Arlington HS) had six points and a game-high seven assists.
For the Pirates, Pellum led with a co-game-high 16 points. Freshman guard Chris Nelson had a team-high five rebounds. RCC out-rebounded OCC, 49-23.
Riverside will be idle this Friday, Feb. 1, but OCC will host the Saddleback College Gauchos in a 5:30 p.m. OEC tipoff. RCC's next game will be on Wednesday, Feb. 6, against the host Cypress College Chargers in a 5:30 p.m. battle.