Fullerton Comeback Falls Short

Fullerton entered its Orange Empire Conference game Wednesday with a lengthy list of troubles. The Hornets already had lost four consecutive conference games and Tuesday it was announced that Coach Tim Sweeney had stepped down because of health reasons.

Wednesday evening grew more frustrating for Fullerton and interim Coach Dieter Horton as the Hornets’ second-half rally fell short in a 90-85 loss to Rancho Santiago.

Fullerton was down, 53-37, at the half and fell back by as many as 18 early in the second half before freshman guard Ty Berry led a comeback.

He scored 20 of his game-high 35 in the second half. Fullerton trailed 77-75 when LaBree Williams scored on a lay-in with 5 minutes 39 seconds left.

But Rancho Santiago got baskets from Chris Rose and Jon Surface and a free throw from Todd Wilson to open an 82-75 lead about two minutes later.

Fullerton (7-14, 0-5) got as close as four, 82-78, on David Wilson’s three-point play with 2:55 left.

The victory ended a three-game losing streak for Rancho Santiago, which had late leads before losing to Irvine Valley and Riverside in its last two games.

Surface and Rose had 20 points each and Marcus Lemons had 15 off the bench for Rancho Santiago (14-8, 2-3).

Berry, from Chino Hills Ayala High, made 11 of 15 shots from the field and 11 of 14 free throws. Williams had 21 points for Fullerton. Damon Smith had 15 and Wilson 14 for Fullerton, which had only four players score.