Gauchos Defeat San Francisco for 2009-10 State Title

The Saddleback men's basketball season finished its miracle ride on Sunday when it held off a solid City College of San Francisco team to capture the California community college state championship.  The Gauchos darted out to an 11 point lead and held off the Rams for a 63-57 win, capturing the schools second state title in nine years.

Perry Webster was named the tournament MVP after finishing with 19 points and seven assists, consistently frustrating the Rams in the offensive zone as he controlled the tempo of the game from the outset.  Tyler McManaman(left) and Robert Curtis were also named the all tournament team, as Saddleback became the second straight No. 4 seed from the south to win the state title. 

San Francisco looked like a team in shock when Saddleback jumped out to a 13-2 lead with under 11:00 minutes remaining in the first half.  The Rams battled back in a ferocious manner, taking a brief lead at one point before the Gauchos snatched back a 3-point lead heading into the intermission.  The teams traded baskets and free throws for the majority of the second 20 minutes, with neither team able to force its will.  In the end, Saddleback made all its free throws down the stretch as the Gauchos made 13-of-14 from the charity stripe to close the game.

Saddleback finishes the season at 29-5 and finally gets a chance to celebrate after losing in the state title a year ago.  It was the third appearance in the state championship game for the program in nine years. 

For the Gauchos, they displayed a tremendous amount of poise and tenacity…outhustling, outshooting and outmaneuvering the competition at every turn.  Saddleback once again echoed the concept that offense sells tickets and defense wins championships, holding three teams that came into the tournament averaging 77 points-per-game, to 51 points for the weekend.  While opponents were looking to run the court and look like the Showtime Lakers of the late 80's, Saddleback was perfectly happy to be the 1985 
 Chicago Bears, digging in defensively and playing arguably the best defense the tournament has seen in decades. 

For head coach Andy Ground, it was his second straight 29-win season as he now stands at 58-13 through two seasons, appearing in the state title game in his first two years at the helm.  Ground's ability to get his players to dig in and play defense at a time when players value a highlight clip on Sport Center over post-season hardware is to be commended.  He controlled the tempo of every game with the leadership of point guard Perry Webster, who was a thorn in the side of every player he faced, and controlled the clock with a timeout when the opponents looked ready to grab the momentum. 

Webster averaged 15 points, 6.3 assists and four rebounds-per-game during the tournament, but it was his ability to get into the head of his competition and control the tempo that was critical.  His brash, but calculated style of play was a constant source of frustration for the opponents, but one that his teammates rallied behind as they entered every game as the consensus underdog. 

Joining Webster on the all tournament team was McManaman and Curtis, who at times were as impressive as Webster. 

McManaman led the Gauchos in scoring in three of the five playoff games,
 averaging 14.6 points-per-game, shooting 48% from the field and making 8-of-18 three-pointers.  He transferred into the program from Iowa Central College to make a name for him self, and did just that with his slashing style of play and timely shooting.  McManaman had a number of key baskets during the playoff run, but no basket was more important than the 6-foot runner from the baseline with 12 seconds remaining in the state title game.  After looking to pass the ball to Webster andDe'Andre Myles, who were both well covered by San Francisco defenders and time running down on the shot clock, McManaman decided to do things all himself, driving to the right of the key and hitting nothing but net from the right side of the basket.  The timely hoop gave the Gauchos a four point lead and ended up being the final dagger for the Rams, who had been running on empty and walking on eggshells for five minutes. 

A number of Saddleback players were likely to have gained four-year scholarships over the weekend, but nobody saw his stock rise more than Robert Curtis.  The 6-foot-9 power forward was a walking mismatch for most of the tournament, completely dominating the final 10 minutes of the semifinal win over Citrus College.  Curtis finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds against Citrus and shot 75% from the field in the tournament, creating a buzz amongst the bevy of scouts in attendance. 

In closing, the 2009-10 Saddleback team proved to be the ultimate lunch pail crew, as nearly every member of the team had their day in the limelight during the course of the season.  Never was that more evident than this morning (Monday), when sophomore guard T.J. Lipold showed up at the athletics office looking to work out in the weight room just 15 hours after winning the state championship.  It has long been said that it takes talent to win, but never underestimate the heart of a champion. It is nice to see that an honest, hard-days work still has its place in the world.