Tigers Edge Chargers at Home

Cypress hung tough in a near upset over Riverside College.

•  Box Score

Andre Winn

Riverside, Calif. - Cypress nearly pulled off a big upset on the road, but fell just short in a 69-64 loss to Riverside Community College on the road Friday.

Cypress College (8-14, 1-6) stayed in the game until the very end, but a late run by RCC, and some untimely missed shots were the difference down the stretch for the Chargers in a close loss on the road to one of the elite teams in the OEC.

Andre Winn finished with game-highs in points scored (18) and assists (4), while also adding seven rebounds to his stat line. Winn scored his 18 points on a 6 of 16 shooting night that included a perfect 5 for 5 effort from the charity stripe.


Julius Von Hanzlik (11 points) and Kourtney Maxim (10) were the other two Chargers to score in double-digits. Montel Taylor had a game-high nine rebounds for Cypress.



The Chargers will host Saddleback College on Wednesday, February 1 at 7:30 p.m. This is their first home game scheduled in the second game time slot.

Chargers Close Out First Half of Conference Play with Loss to Pirates

Cypress lost a 93-78 shootout to close out the first half of conference play. 

• Box Score

Julius Von Hanzlik

Cypress, Calif. - Cypress College (7-14, 1-5) lost a 93-78 decision at home against Orange Coast College (7-15, 2-4) in a battle between last place teams in the Orange Empire Conference standings.

Andre Winn scored 23 to lead the Chargers in scoring, while Montel Taylor and Julius Von Hanzlik each chipped in with a double-double. Taylor scored 21 points on 8 of 17 shooting from the field, and collected a team-high 12 rebounds. Von Hanzlik scored 15 points and added 10 rebounds. Winn finished 9 of 16 shooting, including a sizzling 4 of 5 from beyond the arc.

Orange Coast jumped out early lead in the game, and Cypress was never able to get on track the rest of the way.

The Chargers go on the road to take on Riverside Community College on Friday in the opening game of the second half of OEC play.

Lasers Prevail Over Chargers in Defensive Battle

Cypress played good defense in a 54-44 loss to Irvine Valley at home.

• Box Score
  

Montel Taylor

Cypress, Calif. - Cypress College (6-12, 1-4) held Irvine Valley College to just 54 points, but the Lasers defense was strong as well in a 54-44 loss at home for the Chargers.

On a night when legendary head coach Don Johnson was honored with a bronze plaque hung outside the gym where he won so many of his career 588 victories as head coach of the Cypress College men's basketball team, the Chargers weren't able to pull off a close defensive battle that was tied with just minutes to go in regulation.

A late run by IVC proved to be the difference as the Chargers dropped their fourth Orange Empire Conference game of the year.

Montel Taylor was the only Charger to score in double figures with a team-high 14 points. Taylor also picked up a team-high seven rebounds. Andre Winn and Kourtney Maxim each scored nine points apiece in the loss.

Cypress will host Orange Coast College next Wednesday to close out the first half of league play.

Chargers Down Dons in OT to Win First OEC Game

Cypress outscored Santa Ana College 21-11 in overtime to pick up its first conference victory.

Box Score

Jacob Nungaray

Santa Ana, Calif. - Down by four with less than a minute left in regulation, Cypress sophomore Andre Winn brought the Chargers (8-11, 1-3) back to tie the game and send it to overtime. That was all Cypress needed to pick up its first Orange Empire Conference victory of the season with a 82-72 win over the Dons (8-10, 2-3). In overtime, Cypress shot a blistering 75 percent to outscore SAC 21-11 on the road.

Four Chargers hit double digits in points scored, led by Andre Winn's game-high 22 points, including a 15 for 16 effort from the free throw line. Montel Taylor posted another 20-point game on 8 of 15 shooting from the floor. Chris Maheras and Jacob Nungaray each added 10 points apiece in the victory over SAC. Nungaray also showed up big time on the other end of the court as well after finishing with a game-high six steals.

The Chargers took a 10-5 lead with 13:52 to go in the first half when Kourtney Maxim connected on a jumper. After a layup by SAC's Kacy Barlow tied the game at 14-14 a few minutes later, Cypress went on a 9-1 run to open up a nine-point edge when Montel Taylor hit a layup to make it a 23-15 ballgame.

A 9-7 run by the Dons near the end of the first half made it 30-24 with six seconds on the clock, but a buzzer-beating three pointer by Julius Von Hanzlik stretched Cypress' lead back to nine points heading into the locker room.

The Chargers came out of the break determined to win their first OEC game of the year, and knocked down their first two shots to open up a 13-point margin over Santa Ana on the road.

Cypress had its largest lead of the night get to 48-34 with 11:32 left to play in regulation, but a huge 21-7 run by the Dons made it a tie game at 55-55 with three minutes to play after Chad Young buried a three from deep.

With 1:09 on the clock, SAC popped another trey to put the Chargers in a four-point hole that only Winn could them out of.

In the OT, Cypress won it at the line. The Chargers knocked down 3 of 4 from the floor in the extra frame, but it was their 15 of 19 shooting from the free throw line that did the Dons in. SAC matched Cypress with three field goals in overtime, but only made 5 of 7 from the charity stripe when it counted most.

The Chargers will host Irvine Valley College at home on Friday, January 20 at 5:30 p.m. as they go for their second OEC win of the year.

Following the game, legendary Cypress men's basketball head coach Don Johnson will be honored for his extremely successful career leading the Charger program with a short dedication ceremony to commemorate the newly mounted Don Johnson bronze-plaque outside of the doors leading to the basketball floor that bears his name - Don Johnson Court.

Cypress Drops Third Straight in Conference

Winn and Montel Taylor combine for 50 in loss to Hornets.
 

Andre Winn

Cypress, Calif. - Andre Winn and Montel Taylor combined for 50 points, but it wasn't enough in a 92-75 Orange Empire Conference loss to Fullerton College at home on Wednesday.

Winn finished one rebound shy of a double-double after scoring 25 points and pulling down nine rebounds against the Hornets (4-12, 2-1). Taylor continued his impressive play in January by tossing up 25 points and collecting 13 rebounds to earn his first double-double in OEC play. In Cypress' three league contests this season, Taylor is averaging 22.6 points and nine rebounds a game.

Cypress (7-11, 0-3) started off the night by going blow-for-blow with Fullerton. Winn knocked down a three pointer to put the Chargers on the board a minute and a half into the game, then drained another jumper a few minutes later to bring Cypress back to within a point at 9-8 with 16:43 to go before halftime.

After a score by the Hornets made it a three-point contest, Jacob Nungaray scored two points to make it  a one-point game. Unfortunately, that would be the closest Cypress would get the rest of the way.

Fullerton College opened up a 41-26 lead right before halftime when Gregory Bewerwick hit a three pointer with seven ticks left on the clock.

An offensive shootout broke out in the second period after both squads decided to leave their defenses in the locker room at halftime. In a wild 20 minute stretch, the Chargers and Hornets combined to score 100 points on 36 of 71 shooting from the floor, and 20 of 29 from the line.

The scoring was so evenly matched in the second half that both teams hit 18 field goals, including four three pointers apiece. Fullerton's only edge in the second period came at the charity stripe with a narrow 11-9 margin.

Winn and Taylor did the bulk of their scoring after halftime by combining for 35 of their 50 points. Winn scored 18 points on 5 of 9 shooting, including sinking three of four from downtown, and a perfect 5 for 5 from the line, while Taylor dropped 17 points on 7 of 11 shooting in 20 minutes of play.

The Chargers have a bye this Friday, January 13, and will return to action at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 18, when they go on the road to take on a solid Santa Ana College squad.

Chargers Drop Second in Conference

Second half run hurts Chargers in 73-55 conference loss at Saddleback.

Andre Winn

Mission Viejo, Calif. - Cypress College (7-10, 2-0) kept the game close early into the second half, but Saddleback College (10-7, 1-1) played well enough down the stretch to pull out a 73-55 Orange Empire Conference victory at home on Friday.

Montel Taylor turned in another solid night by putting up a team-high 18 points on 6 of 13 shooting from the floor. Taylor was one of four Chargers to score in double figures, including Andre Winn who finished with 12 points, Kourtney Maxim with 11, and Julius Von Hanzlik with 10 points.

As a team, Cypress shot 36%, hitting 18 of 50 from the floor, including 4 of 16 from beyond the arc.

The Chargers went into halftime only trailing by nine points, and after a few buckets early in the second half found themselves down by only four points with 16 minutes to go in the game, but a big run by the Gauchos put the game out of reach.

Cypress College will look for its first Orange Empire Conference victory of the year on Wednesday when it hosts Fullerton College at 5:30 p.m.

Chargers Rally Falls Short in Conference Opener

Montel Taylor scored a game-high 25 points.

Montel Taylor

Cypress, Calif. - Cypress College (7-9, 0-1) made a valiant effort in the second half to get back in the game, but Riverside Community College (7-6, 1-0) was able to hold on for a 74-62 victory over the Chargers in the Orange Empire Conference opener at Don Johnson Court on Wednesday.

Montel Taylor led all scorers with a 25 point performance on 9 of 13 shooting from the floor, and 7 of 9 from the free throw line. Harris also added eight rebounds on the night.

Andre Winn finished with a team-high nine rebounds, and tossed in 14 points against the Tigers. Julius Von Hanzlik ended with 13 points and six boards.

A big halftime deficit, and too many miscues on offense proved fatal for the Chargers in the end. Cypress' 19 turnovers were too much to overcome down the stretch in the 74-62 conference season opening loss at home to Riverside Community College.

The Chargers have a tough task ahead of them when they travel to South County to take on Saddleback College on Friday, January 6 at 5:30 p.m.