ANAHEIM – Despite playing without its leading scorer in the second half, Fullerton snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 45-44 nonleague victory over Western on Friday night at Western High.
Senior Travis Bush scored 10 of the Indians’ 15 first-half points, including all seven of their first-quarter points. Bush hurt his ankle landing on another player’s foot in the second quarter and did not play in the second half.
Fullerton performed effectively without him, putting up 23 points in the third quarter to stretch its lead to 38-31 heading into the fourth. Seniors Eddie Bair and Javy Rodriguez led the way with nine and seven points in the quarter, respectively.
“We’ve got three or four guys that can put the ball in the hole, and it’s usually just been one,” said Fullerton coach Scott Sinek. “Any one of them can step up, but we’re still looking for the day when three of them are going.”
Much of Fullerton’s second-half offense came from its defense. The Indians came out of halftime in a full-court press that forced several turnovers by the Pioneers, which led to easy buckets. The press was spear-headed by sophomore Stone Sinek, who had a game-high seven steals.
Western fought back in the fourth, led by the shooting of senior guard Brandon Magallanes and freshman guard Danny Walters. The Pioneers cut their deficit to 45-44 with a minute to go when Magallanes stole the ball at midcourt and scored on a breakaway layup.
Neither team scored thereafter. Magallanes attempted a buzzer-beating three, but missed it, sealing the Fullerton win.
Western senior center Rahul Bagga led both teams with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Bush leads Fullerton with 15.2 points per game. Coach Sinek said he expects Bush’s ankle to heal after a few days of rest.
