Huntington Beach, Calif. - Freshman power forward Eric Watson scored 15 points in thirty minutes on the hardwood with five rebounds in a lopsided loss to Saddleback College 83-65.
The Rustler defense had no answer for the Gauchos point gaurd David Dial as he drove to the basket at will all afternoon to the tune of 29 points and seven assists. Sophomore foward Christian Anderson chipped in 10 points for Golden West on offense along with freshman teammate Justin Kirksey's 11 points.
Golden West played a tight physical basketball game until six minutes left in the first half while trailing 23-16, the Gauchos used a 16-7 run to close out the first half up 39-23. The Rustlers made some halftime adjustments and were able to cut the lead to ten, six minutes into the second half but Saddleback kept pushing the ball to score. The Gauchos pulled away after a timeout en route to their convincing 83-65 victory.
Golden West will be back in action after the new year as they travel to Irvine Valley College on Friday, January 3rd for a 6pm tipoff.