Taylor Thwarts Fullerton Comeback Attempt as Riverside Wins, 67-56

RIVERSIDE -- Will Taylor scored 11 of his 18 points in the second half, including a string of seven in a row, as well as four free throws in the last 1:13 to buoy the Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers men's basketball team to 67-56 Oranege Empire Conference (OEC) home victory over the Fullerton College Hornets Wednesday evening (Jan. 7) at historic Arthur N. Wheelock Gymnasium.

Riverside (6-10 overall, 1-0 OEC) led, 30-12, with 3:01 to play in the first half before settling for a 36-22 lead at halftime.

Fullerton (2-16 overall, 0-1 OEC) closed to within 48-44 with 6:59 left before Taylor took over.

Taylor, a sophomore guard from Milwaukee, WI, strung together a tipin, a free throw, a layin, and a jump shot in a span of 2:21 in the last 5-1/2 minutes of the game to give Riverside a 59-49 lead with 3:04 to play. Down the stretch, Taylor added four free throws (at 1:13 & :31) to keep the Hornets at bay.

Taylor came off the bench to pour in 18 points, but teammate sophomore guard Jelani Mitchell (Pasadena / John Muir HS '13) led all scorers with 19 points and he added 11 rebounds.

Freshman forward Viali Chamberlain (Miami, FL / Miami Norland HS '13) added 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds as the Tigers outrebounded the Hornets, 58-19. A total of 53 fouls were called, including two technicals.

For Fullerton, freshman guard Austyn Thompson (Burbank / Burroughs HS) came off the bench to lead the Hornets with 18 points.

Next for RCC, the Tigers will visit the Cypress College Chargers on Friday, Jan. 9, in a 7 p.m. OEC tipoff.

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