Sharp Shooting Leads Riverside past No. 2 Fullerton, Snags Top Spot in OEC

The Riverside City College men's basketball team has been on a hot streak entering into the final game of the first round in Orange Empire Conference (OEC) play against the No. 2 Fullerton College Hornets. The Tigers had won five of their last six games entering into a showdown against the Hornets and looked to continue the hot streak for a chance to hold the top spot in conference.

An unlikely hero rose to the occasion in the form of freshman guard Keylin Vance. While averaging only 7.6 points-per-game and just 12.6 minutes-per-game entering into Friday night's game, the Portland, OR native shined.

The Tigers were down by one point entering into the second half and were looking for a sparking after shooting just 38.5 percent from the floor in the first half. Vance entered the game with just under 18 minutes to go and went to work. He began by working his way to the line and draining a free throw to kick start his night.

After returning to the bench for a short period of time, Vance re-entered and hit six-consecutive shots with five of them coming from long range. He mixed in four free throws throughout the process. He captained the Tigers from down three points with nine minutes to go and sparked an 18-7 run thus leading to a 69-59 victory.

Vance had some help down the stretch with freshman point guard Melvin Walker facilitating nearly every bucket. He finished the game with eight assists to go along with 11 points and a pair of steals. Freshman Zekiah LoVett chipped in nine points, while freshman Amir Davis sunk eight points and racked up seven boards.

As a team, Riverside held the edge over Fullerton in every main category. Second half prowess saw the Tigers cart a 44.9 shooting percentage which included a 52.4 mark from long range. This is due in part to Vance going 7-for-9 from distance. Furthermore, they outrebounded Fullerton 35-31 leading to 20 points in the paint. Riverside also notched 16 points off of Fullerton's 12 turnovers.

The Tigers (12-8, 7-1 OEC) will return to action on Friday, January 24 against the Golden West College Rustlers on the road at 5 p.m.