Riverside College Upsets #1 Saddleback to Win State Title

FRESNO – In a weekend that showcased several down-to-the-wire finishes, Sunday's men's championship between the Saddleback College Gauchos and the Riverside College Tigers topped them all.

Despite losing a late second-half lead, the Tigers (30-7) maintained composure and pulled out a 69-60 overtime win on Sunday in the 2009 California Community College State Men's Basketball Championships, played at Selland Arena.

David Norris led the Tigers with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Kevin Bradshaw and Jovan Bryant each added 11 points. Point guard Daniel Redmon dished out a game-high eight assists and had five steals.

For the Gauchos, Kevin Menner led the way with 22 points, while Franklin Session added 14 ponts and 16 rebounds.

It was the seventh men's championship game to head into overtime, the last coming in 1984, when San Joaquin Delta edged Santa Barbara, 38-37. In addition, it's the first time in championship tournament history that a third-place team has ever gone on to win the state title.

After trailing by as many as 10 with 3:37 to go, the Gauchos (29-8) evened the game with 20.8 seconds left when Aaron Woods buried a 3-pointer to tie the game at 58.

After a turnover by Riverside gave the Gauchos one more chance to steal the championship in regulation, a Menner drive was stopped by the Tigers, sending the game into overtime.

In a game controlled by Riverside for most of the way, a 12-2 run by Saddleback in the final 3:21 of regulation helped bring the Gauchos even.

In the overtime session, Riverside regained its edge on the defensive end, keeping the Gauchos off of the scoreboard, while jumping out to a 66-58 advantage with 35.4 seconds left.

Buckets by David Norris and Donovan Buford, followed by free throws by James Calhoun, Norris and Redmon pushed the Riverside advantage to 10 with 22 seconds left.

A rebound jumper by Menner finally put the Gauchos on the scoreboard in the overtime, but it was too little too late as the Tigers claimed their first state championship since 1966 when coach Jerry Tarkanian led the Tigers to a 91-61 win over CC San Francisco.

Riverside grabbed the momentum of the game midway through the first half. After Session hit a 3-pointer to cut the Tigers' lead to 17-16, RCC broke free from the Gauchos with a 14-0 run, giving Riverside its biggest lead of the half at 31-16.

While Saddleback found offensive support from Menner (11 points), Session (seven points) and T.J. Lipold (four points), the rest of the Gauchos went a combined 0-for-9 from the field as Riverside led 34-22 at the half.

Jovan Bryant led the Tigers with 11 first-half points, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, while Kevin Bradshaw added nine.

Thanks to the help of 15 offensive rebounds, RCC put up 16 more shots than Saddleback (41-25) and limited the opportunities of the Gauchos in the first 20 minutes.