SANTA ANA - After a slow start in the first half of Orange Empire Conference competition, the Dons are now 3-0 in the second round following their 108-102 win over Fullerton College. The win moves the Dons (15-8, 5-4) into third place, ahead of Fullerton (12-11, 4-4).
The Dons used hot shooting in the early stages of the first half to build an early 10-point lead at 20-10 just six minutes into the game. The Dons largest first half lead came after a Chase Miller three-pointer at the 10 minute mark that put SAC up 36-20.
The Dons had another 16-point lead with 7:20 left in the half but that lead was quickly erased. The Hornets used a 16-3 run to pull within three points at 43-40 with 4:10 left but the next seven points belonged to the Dons who went back up by 10 at 50-40.
Fullerton had one more run left before halftime, this time outscoring the Dons 13-4 capped off by a three-pointer by Julian Caldwell in the final minute. That last Fullerton run sent the game into the half with the Dons up just one at 54-53.
Both teams shot well in the first half with the Dons shooting 50% from the field while hitting nine of their 17 three-point attempts. Fullerton, on the other hand, shot 48% while hitting eight three-pointers on 20 attempts.
The second half remained close but Fullerton was never able to overtake the lead for the Dons. There was one tie, however, at 69-69 when Chris Lewis made a lay-up, got fouled and hit the ensuing free throw.
Following that tie, the Dons answered with a 16-4 run to establish a 12-point lead, halfway through the second half. Fullerton would stage another rally, eventually cutting the Dons lead down to just one at 100-99 with just under two minutes left in the game.
That rally was squashed by a Terryn Large lay-up and a Kevin Ramirez three-pointer as the Dons held a 105-99 lead with 31 seconds left. Chase Miller closed out the game with three free throws as the Dons outlasted Fullerton, 108-102.
When it was all said and done, the two teams combined for 29 made three-pointers with Fullerton hitting 17 and the Dons 12. Fullerton ended the game shooting 52% while the Dons shot 51%. But the edge belonged to the Dons who shot 75% (28-for-37) from the free throw line.
Cammie Lewis led the Dons with 24 points followed by Miller's 23 points. Large added 17 points and 10 rebounds and Ramirez had 14 points. Finally, Martin Kim rounded out the Dons double digit scorers with 13 points.
Fullerton's Jason Payne led all scorers with 31 points as he hit nine three-pointers. Julian Caldwell added 19 points while Tyler Paine scored 18 points. Rufus Jemison chipped in another 10 points for the Hornets.
The Dons are back in action on Friday when they host Orange Coast College at 5:30 p.m.
