Late Game Push Not Enough in Tiger’s Second Conference Defeat

Two historically powerhouse Orange Empire Conference (OEC) teams squared off on Thursday night in Wheelock Gym as the Tigers hosted the Santiago Canyon College Hawks on home hardwood. Despite a decent shooting night on paper, the Tigers were sluggish on both ends by allowing Santiago Canyon to score early and often leading to an 82-76 loss.

The Tigers trailed by as much as 19 halfway through the second half, but they put together a strong final 10 minutes that brought them to within six points of a tie. Sophomore forward Lyden Paul sparked a mini run by burying a triple that was assisted by sophomore guard Julian Alvarez. Paul kissed two points off the glass two possessions later, but not before sophomore guard Jalen Monroe corralled an offensive rebounds and notched a bucket of his own.

Freshman sharp shooter Tomi Adesiji followed with a three pointer, backed by two points from Paul at the charity stripe. However, the Hawks closed out the game with six free throws to close out the game.

Adesiji led Riverside with 16 points to go along with three rebounds and two assists. Sophomore guard Courtland Moffatt followed with 14 points in 34 minutes of action. Freshman Isaiah Thomas earned his first-career start and dropped 13 points and racked up five rebounds. Paul was two boards shy of a double-double to go along with 11 points.

Freshman center Raymond Hawkins played well off the bench in limited action. He tied his career-high mark with 10 points. Two of this buckets came on infatuating dunks.

Riverside had 44 points in the paint to keep things close, but went 8-for-22 from distance. Additionally, they had 15 turnovers; four more than SCC.