After an exciting four-game series that ended last Friday at Saddleback College, the Gauchos won the Presidents’ Cup, an annual tradition highlighting men’s and women’s basketball between intra-district rivals Saddleback College and Irvine Valley College. After three wins for Saddleback College and one for Irvine Valley College, the Gauchos were awarded the Presidents’ Cup by President Tod A. Burnett of Saddleback College and Glenn R. Roquemore of Irvine Valley College at the end of the competition.
The series’ finale follows two competitive games in front of a spirited crowd, with the final score of the men’s game at a dramatic 44-41 after the Gauchos overcame a six-point deficit in the final minutes of the game, and the women’s team winning after an exciting game and a score of 59-56. The previous two games were played on Jan. 27 at Irvine Valley College, where the Gauchos women’s basketball team beat the Lasers 68-65 on a three-point shot at the buzzer, and the Saddleback men’s team losing to Irvine Valley 58-47. The Gauchos men’s basketball team finishes the regular season 24-5 overall and 9-3 in Orange Empire Conference play with the win and have placed as the #6 seed in the Southern California playoffs. The team will play Chaffey College on Friday at 7 p.m. in the Saddleback College gymnasium.
The Presidents’ Cup trophy will be displayed in the foyer of the Administration and Governance Building on the Saddleback College campus and will be up for grabs when the Gauchos and Lasers men’s and women’s basketball teams face off again next year.
