Saddleback Wins Fifth Riverside Holiday Tournament Title; RCC Tigers Finish Fourth

44^th Annual Riverside Holiday Basketball Tournament, Dec. 8-11, 2015

Friday, Dec. 11 (all games at Wheelock Gym):

Game 15, 1 p.m. (consol. champ./ninth place): L.A. Pierce (6-8) 89, Cerritos (6-4) 80;

Game 18, 3 p.m. (fifth place): San Bernardino Valley (13-2) 70, Mt. San Jacinto (10-3) 69;

Game 16, 5 p.m. (third place): Fullerton (11-4) 58, Riverside (7-6) 47;

Game 17, 7 p.m. (championship): Saddleback (11-1) 71, Chaffey (10-4) 65

***

RIVERSIDE -- The 44th Annual Riverside Holiday Tournament came to an end Friday (Dec. 11) with the Los Angeles Pierce College (LAPC) Brahmas (ninth place), San Bernardino Valley College (SBVC) Wolverines (fifth place), Fullerton College (FC) Hornets (third place) and tournament champion Saddleback College Gauchos emerging victorious.

In the consolation championship (ninth place) game, L.A. Pierce (6-8) built a 47-28 advantage with 53 seconds left in the first half, then saw Cerritos (come back to take a 69-63 lead with 7:12 to play before the Brahmas reasserted themselves to build an 89-76 lead with 55 seconds left. LAPC sophomore guard Javonte Matthews led Pierce with a game-high 26 points. Brian Nebo paced Cerritos with 24 points and a game-high ten rebounds. LAPC's Montel Shirley was named to the all-tournament team.

The fifth-place game was a battle as San Bernardino Valley shaded former Foothill Conference rival, Mt. San Jacinto College (MSJC), 70-69. Brandon Jolley canned a pair of free throws with 1.6 seconds left for the game's final points. MSJC led, 31-16, with 3:30 remaining in the first half and built a 39-23 halftime lead, but the Wolverines were more then equal to the task.

SBVC freshman guard Robert Lewis was one of five Wolverines to score in double digits with 16 points. Devin Fleming led the MSJC Eagles with 17 points. Roosevelt Adams, who had 14 points and eight rebounds, was named to the all-tournament team for SBVC, while MSJC's Kendall Brown (a former RCC Tiger) also was accorded all-tournament honors.

In the third-place game, the Fullerton Hornets never trailed and went on to a 58-47 win over the host Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers. FC broke a 2-2 tie, sprinted to a 32-12 lead with 3:53 in the first half and led, 35-19 at halftime.

Kenny Barnes led the Hornets with 18 points and eight rebounds and was named to the all-tournament team. Riverside, which utilized only seven players, was led freshman guard Andy Cleaves (John W. North HS) with 13 points. Cleaves also received all-tournament kudos. Freshman guard Courtney Moffatt (Centennial HS) added 12 points and nine assists. Both Cleaves and Moffatt played all 40 minutes for RCC.

In the championship game, Saddleback broke a 24-24 halftime tie and kept Chaffey at bay with a 71-65 win. Freshman forward Breaon Brady (Ellet HS) came off the bench and led the Gauchos with 16 points en route to all-tournament honors. Devonte Klines received tournament MVP honors for Saddleback. Sophomore guard Victor Joseph, normally a starter, came off the bench to pace the Panthers with 17 points. Alfred Brown added ten points and was named to the all-tournament team.

It was the fifth Riverside Holiday Tournament championship for Saddleback and third in the last four years for Gauchos head coach Andy Ground. Saddleback won in 1986, 1992, 2008, 2014 and 2015.

***

44th Riverside Holiday Tournament -- 2015 All-tournament Team:

Saddleback: Devonte Klines (MVP), Breaon Brady;

Chaffey: Alfred Brown;

Fullerton: Kenny Barnes;

Riverside: Andy Cleaves;

San Bernardino Valley: Steven Adams;

Mt. San Jacinto: Kendall Brown;

L.A. Pierce: Montel Shirley

***

For the first time in its 44-year existence, the Riverside Holiday Tournament featured 12 community college teams, instead of the usual 16-team format which had been utilized since 1982 (except for 2010 and 2011 when no tournament was held due to the reconstruction of Wheelock Gymnasium).

From 1969 through 1981, except for 1976 (no tournament) and 1977 (four-team tournament), the tournament had an eight-team format.

Riverside has won its tournament ten times (1974, '77, '81, '85, '91, '92, '94, '95, 2006, '09), followed by (now defunct) Los Angeles City, which won it seven times (1982, '96, 1999-2000-2001, 2003-2004). The Tigers have been tournament runners-up 13 times.

Defending state- and Riverside Holiday Tournament champion Saddleback has won it five times (1986, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2015). Fullerton has won the Riverside Holiday Tournament twice (1993 and 2005) and was runner-up in 2008. Chaffey won the tournament in 2013.

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