SANTA ANA - The Dons made a strong push in the second half but their late rally was too little too late as they fell to Merced College 43-38 in the semifinals of the Santa Ana College Tournament.

With the loss, the Dons will play Long Beach City College in the third place game tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. while Merced will face Moorpark College in the championship game at 4:00 p.m.

The Dons found themselves down by 12 points at the break as Merced took advantage of its size down low, outscoring the Dons 22-4 in the paint in the first half alone. The Blue Devils also held a 10-0 advantage on second chance points while their bench outscored the Dons 18-0.

The tide seemed to turn in the Dons favor in the second half as SAC used an 11-1 run in the first 13 minutes to cut Merced's lead to just two at 33-31 with 7:35 left. But Merced was able to edge the Dons 10-7 for the remainder of the game to hold on for the win. Overall, the Dons outscored Merced 18-11 in the second half, but it wasn't enough as the comeback fell short.

Berlin Ohanesian led all scorers with 13 points while Carly Ducat and Ashley Whisler added 11 points apiece. Sonji Green led Merced with 12 points followed by Rogenee Russell who scored 11 points.

Tournament Recap Day Two - BRACKETS

Bakersfield opened the second day with a win over San Diego Mesa to advance to the consolation championship against the MiraCosta squad that defeated Desert in the second game. Moorpark followed with its win over Long Beach City to advance to the finals while sending Long Beach to the third place game.

Finally, the host Dons fell to Merced in the second semifinal. Merced will face Moorpark for the title while the Dons will play Long Beach for third place.