No. 16 Riverside Prevails in OT

The game was within six points at the end of each half as the Riverside City College men's basketball team hit the road to face off against the Cypress College Chargers in Orange Empire Conference (OEC) action. After being down 11 with under eight minutes remaining, the Tigers clawed back to tie the game up and send it into overtime.

Freshman forward Jalen Monroe forced overtime by laying up a bucket following a missed jumper. Sophomore forward Amir Davis corralled the offensive rebounds, one of his 15 total boards, to set up the five-minute overtime frame.

Much like the majority of the contest, Riverside had control of the final moments of the contest. Monroe hit the first bucket in overtime and followed by working to the free throw line and hitting both shots to go up by four.

Despite a mini run from Cypress that tied the game up at 60-all, a three ball from sophomore guard Zekiah LoVett put the Tigers back up by three. Sophomore point guard Melvin Walker hit a jumper after the Chargers answered with a three pointer, backed by another pair of free throws from LoVett to give the Tigers up 67-63.

From then on, it was a free throw battle and the Tigers prevailed by hitting four down the stretch. Monroe hit two while LoVett hit a pair as well leading to a 71-66 win.

Monroe was the story after coming off the bench to score 19 points while being responsible for six of the Tigers' 15 overtime points. He nearly earned a double-double with seven rebounds to go along with one assist and one steal.

Three of the Tigers five starters landed in double-digit points with Davis leading the starting five with 13 points. He earned a double-double with 15 rebounds, six assists and four steals. Walker flushed12 points, while LoVett finished with 11.

The Tigers shot 43.3 percent from the floor despite a weak 13.3 clip from long range. Rebounds were fairly even despite the Tigers being out-rebounded 48-40. The Tigers' bench dropped 28 total points due in part to Monroe's efforts.