Men's basketball team loses to Fullerton in OEC battle

Courtesy of On My Game Photography
Courtesy of On My Game Photography

The Irvine Valley men's basketball team had everything going its way through the first half with the second-ranked team in the state.

IVC led, 34-30, at the half, but the second half was different story.

The Lasers were out-scored by 18 points in the second half and fell to the Hornets, 77-63, in an Orange Empire Conference game Wednesday night at Irvine Valley.

Irvine Valley, ranked No. 20 in the state, had its record slip to 10-6 overall and 2-3 in the state. Fullerton improved to 17-1 overall and 7-0 in conference.

IVC was up, 34-30, at the half, but Fullerton went on a 10-1 run started by a layup by Ronnie Stapp, who led the Hornets with 24 points.

The Lasers got back into the game with a run of their own and pulled within 53-52 on a layup by sophomore guard JT Robinson.

But it was all Fullerton after that. The Hornets led by as many as 17 points before winning by 14.

The Hornets shot 71.4 percent (15 of 21) from the field in the second half to pull away.

Irvine Valley was led by Robinson with 16 points, sophomore guard Aaron Strings with 12 points and freshman guard Tyson Robinson with 10 points.

Stapp had 24 points and Gaven Ramirez and Tristan Williams each added 13 points for Fullerton.

Irvine Valley plays again on Friday, hosting Golden West in an Orange Empire Conference game at 5 p.m. It is part of a doubleheader with the IVC women's game. The Laser women's basketball team plays Cypress at 7 p.m.

Streams will be available at (19) Irvine Valley College Athletics | Facebook