Walnut, Calif. – The Mt. SAC Men's Basketball Team is officially on fire, picking up their fifth straight victory with an 87–60 win over Riverside City College on Wednesday, Nov. 19. The Mounties improve to 5–1 on the season, while the Tigers drop to 3–3.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Mt. SAC welcomed back guard Jaidyn Simpson, who wasted no time making an impact in his return from injury. Simpson led all scorers with 18 points, providing an immediate spark to an offense that has leaned heavily on Dayvon Gates in recent weeks. Gates continued his strong play with 17 points of his own, helping the Mounties establish control early.
Capitalizing on a series of early fouls by Riverside, the Mounties built a 10–3 lead behind steady free-throw shooting from Simpson, Gates, Ryan Wheeler, and Zion Booker. The advantage grew to 20–10 following contributions from Osami Maciel, Omari Abdallah, and Alejandro Munoz.
But the Tigers roared back with a surge of their own, tightening the game with back-to-back three-pointers from Matthias Tinker and Christian Warren, cutting the deficit to 23–21. The Tigers kept the pressure on throughout a tightly contested first half, but Mt. SAC regained momentum following an important timeout from Coach Fenison. A pair of free throws and a layup from Antonio Camarao helped the Mounties push the lead to 48–34 at halftime.
Mt. SAC controlled the second half on both ends of the floor, outscoring the Tigers 39–26 and dominating the glass 25–16. With the lead well in hand, the Mounties' reserves saw extended minutes. Noah Layne chipped in 5 points off the bench, while Camarao led the second-half effort with 8.
The Mounties outperformed Riverside in nearly every statistical category, including field goal percentage (42.6% to 29.3%), rebounds (51 to 35), assists (11 to 8), points in the paint (42 to 14), fastbreak points (17 to 2), and bench scoring (31 to 28).
NEXT UP:
Mt. SAC travels to face unbeaten Santiago Canyon (6–0) on Wednesday, Nov. 26, at 5:00 PM.
STAY CONNECTED:
Follow Mt. SAC Men's Basketball on twitter @MtSAC_MBKB or Instagram /mt.sacbasketball/
Follow Mt. SAC Athletics on twitter @MtSAC_athletics Instagram /mtsac_athletics/ or Facebook @Mountie.Athletics
For additional information, please contact the Mt. SAC Sports Information Office at 909.274.4630.
