HIGH-FIVE! HORNETS EARN 5TH CONSECUTIVE OEC TITLE!

The No. 1-ranked Fullerton Hornets clinched their fifth consecutive Orange Empire Conference championship Thursday night at home defeating No. 16 Santiago Canyon College 93-79.

The milestone victory marks Fullerton's only five-peat this century and the program's seventh conference championship in 10 seasons under head coach Perry Webster. The Hornets previously won six straight conference titles from 1949-55 under Hall of Fame head coach Alex Omalev.

Overall, FC men's basketball now owns 34 conference championships, which the most among the college's 22 athletic programs surpassing men's water polo. The basketball program's first conference title dates back to 1933 under head coach Art Nunn.

Fullerton improves to 25-1 overall and remains perfect at 12-0 in OEC play. Santiago Canyon falls to 19-7 overall and 8-4 in conference.

The opening seven minutes were electric featuring six ties and two lead changes. With the score knotted at 14-14, the Hornets created separation behind back-to-back three-pointers from MJ Smith and Donovan Pitts. Trey Thompson followed with a bucket to push Fullerton ahead 22-14.

Santiago Canyon responded, trimming the deficit to 27-25, but Fullerton answered once again closing the half strong to take a 52-42 advantage into the break.

Despite Santiago Canyon's ability to score from beyond the arc, Fullerton's aggressive defensive pressure controlled the tempo throughout the second half. A three-pointer from Jaqari Miles gave the Hornets a 63-56 lead midway through the period and Fullerton never looked back. The Hornets extended their lead to as many as 14 points in the final seven minutes and maintained a comfortable cushion down the stretch to secure the championship-clinching win.

Donovan Pitts led all scorers with 25 points, knocking down 5-9 from three-point range and going a perfect 4-4 from the free-throw line. Yoda Oke was dominant attacking the rim throwing down three dunks and finished with 14 points. Brayden Smith and Trey Thompson each added 12 points with Thompson also dishing out 5 assists. Jaqari Miles chipped in 8 points, MJ Smith contributed 6 points and 6 rebounds, and Jaedyn Patterson added 5 points and 5 assists in the complete team effort.

Up Next: No. 1 Fullerton (25-1, 12-0 OEC) travels to Costa Mesa on Wednesday, February 18th for a 5:00 pm. conference matchup against Orange Coast College.

*Photo by Jim McCormack