Dons Pull Away Late to Defeat Cypress College 89-83

Terrence Blum lifts a shot over a Cypress defender in the Dons 89-83 victory. (Photo courtesy of Tony McAndrew)
Terrence Blum lifts a shot over a Cypress defender in the Dons 89-83 victory. (Photo courtesy of Tony McAndrew)

SANTA ANA - With the teams tied after 34 minutes, the Dons used a 7-0 run to establish a late lead before taking an 89-83 victory over visiting Cypress College. The win improves the Dons record to 11-9 overall and 5-1 in conference while Cypress falls to 6-15 and 1-5 with the loss.

The Chargers were able to force a tie at 64-64 with just over six minutes left in the game when David Gonzalez converted four consecutive free throws following a Dons foul and technical foul. But Cammie Lewis would break that tie with a free throw of his own, sparking the late run that put the Dons up for good.

Terrence Blum hit a pair of free throws before a Chad Young layup put the Dons up 69-64. The Dons run was capped off by a jumper by Blum that made the score 71-64 with 3:42 left in the game. Cypress got as close as four points with just under three minutes left, but the Dons quickly turned their lead into 10 points before grabbing the six-point victory.

Lewis led the Dons with 29 points followed by Blum with 22. Damien Benson chipped in another 12 points, all on three-pointers which were the name of the game. The two teams combined for 28 three-pointers with Cypress' Gonzalez hitting nine by himself. Gonzalez finished with a game-high 37 points.