FIRST HALF DEFICIT TOO MUCH TO OVERCOME FOR MARAUDER MEN'S BASKETBALL

Photo by David Nurse

LANCASTER - When facing the second ranked team in the state it's hard to get down 24-3 and expect to come back with a victory.

The Marauder men's basketball team nearly pulled it off.

Unfortunately, for the Marauders, they dug themselves too deep a hole and counldn't quite get over the hump as Saddleback College was able to hang on to an 82-80 victory over AVC in front of a rowdy crowd at Marauder Gymnasium.

It was the first loss at home by the Marauders since 2014, when they lost to East LA College in the playoffs.

"It was a stun job," AVC head coach John Taylor said of his team trailing early in the game. "We're just out of sync right now. But I'm proud of the guys because they didn't quit. We could have lost by 30 tonight. Every team goes through a struggle, but each game we're getting better. I saw a lot of positives out there."

AVC was led by Cory Dollarhide who finished with 25 points and Jailen Gill added 23 points and eight rebounds.

"We didn't come out strong. Our energy wasn't there," said Gill. "We came out stronger in the second half, but it was too late. I think we think we have it made and we haven't accomplished anything."

The Gauchos (4-0) opened the firat half on a 24-3 run, with the only field goal coming from Dollarhide. The Marauders (1-3), which have lost three games in a row, were able to chip away at the lead and only trailed 39-30 at halftime.

Saddleback was led by UC-Davis bound guard T.J. Shorts who finished with 28 points and Breaon Brady, who committed to the University of Houston, added 25 points.

AVC never led in the game and had its opportunities to tie the score or take the lead but could never really get over the hump.