Huntington Beach, Calif. - Golden West men's basketball (1-13, 0-2 OEC) fought valiantly in their close loss to the Saddleback Bobcats (1-1, 8-6 OEC), 77-84.

 In their second Orange Empire Conference matchup, the Rustlers were tasked with hosting the Saddleback Bobcats. The inaugural conference matchup for the 2023-2024 season had the Rustlers be bested by the defending Orange Empire Conference champions which finished last season with a perfect 16-0 record. For their second meeting, Golden West would face off against the second place team from the prior year. 

The home team would go down early but claw their way back on top. It was a back and forth affair throughout the first half. Golden West stayed within five points but would fall behind by nine with six minutes left in the half. As the first twenty minutes came to a close, the Rustlers fought back to come within three points to finish the first half, 33-36.

Out of the gate, Golden West would answer to take the edge from a three point jumper by Noel Camejo. The sophomore guard would be fouled in the same minute and make three foul throws to extend the home team's lead to five. The Rustlers maintained their lead throughout the second half but would lose the advantage midway through the second half as the Bobcats found themselves back on top once again. Though Golden West would keep up with Saddleback, the home team fell just short in the end, 77-84. 

Camejo had a productive night with a team leading 25 points, three rebounds and two steals. Dominic Mcbride was second in scoring 20 points scored, came down with nine rebounds and a team leading six assists. Soma Doherty scored eleven points, recorded three rebounds and one assist. 

NEXT UP: The Rustlers next conference home game will be against the Cypress Chargers on Wednesday, January 10th. Tipoff will be at 5pm.