30TH WIN SENDS FULLERTON BACK TO THE FINAL FOUR!

The No. 1 South Hornets earned their 30th win of the season on Friday night knocking off No. 4 North San Jose 74-63 to open the 3C2A State Tournament and secure a return to the state semifinals for the fourth consecutive year.

The victory improves Fullerton to 30-1 overall and marks the 16th time the Hornets have advanced to the 3C2A Final Four since the tournament began in 1951. Head Coach Perry Webster continues to build one of the most successful eras in program history guiding the Hornets to the Final Four six times in his 10 seasons at the helm. 

Last night, Webster was honored at the 3C2A and CCCMBCA State Tournament banquet, where the All-State awards were announced. Webster was named the South Co-Coach of the Year, sharing the honor with Citrus College's Brett Lauer. The recognition marks the fifth time Webster has received the award, previously earning the honor in 2017, 2019, 2024, 2025, and 2026.

The game featured intense defense on both ends of the floor, with 6 ties and 6 lead changes throughout the day. Neither team could create much separation early as both squads traded baskets and defensive stops in a tightly contested matchup.

San Jose held a 57-55 lead with just under four minutes remaining, but the Hornets responded with a decisive run. Jaedyn Patterson and Donovan Pitts each delivered clutch layups to spark a momentum shift that pushed Fullerton ahead 61-57.

Smith drove to the basket at the two-minute mark, finishing through traffic to give Fullerton a 65-60 advantage and energize the Hornet bench.

Fullerton sealed the victory from the free throw line down the stretch. MJ Smith, Jaedyn Patterson, and Jaqari Miles all converted key free throws in the final moments to close out the game and advance to the semifinal game.

The Hornets shot an efficient 49 percent from the field (24-49) and dominated at the free throw line hitting on 24-28 attempts (85.7). Fullerton also controlled the glass outrebounding San Jose 34-29, while forcing 15 turnovers- committing just 12 of their own.

Fullerton struggled from beyond the arc hitting just 2-16 three-point attempts but made up for it with strong interior play and disciplined execution late in the game.

Leading the Hornets offensively was Yoda Oke, who scored a game-high 19 points while pulling down 10 rebounds for a double-double. Brayden Smith added 18 points on a perfect 7-7 shooting performance, while Donovan Pitts contributed 16 points. Patterson chipped in 9 points and Jaqari Miles added 5 points and 5 rebounds off the bench.

With over a century of history, the Hornet basketball priogram has nine 30-win seasons throughout its storied past. Those landmark seasons came in 1953-54, 1960-61, 1968-69, 1971-72, 2005-06, 2018-19, 2022-23, 2024-25, and 2025-26. The recent surge of success has come under the leadership of Coach Webster, who has guided the Hornets to four of those nine 30-win campaigns.

Up Next: The No. 1 South Hornets (30-1 overall) will face off with the North's No. 2 team in Santa Rosa Junior College (27-4) this Saturday night (Mar. 14) at 5:00 pm.

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*Photos by Jim McCormack