Fullerton Dismisses Santa Rosa; Hornets to Play in its Fourth State Championship Game Since 2019
Photo Gallery (photo/galleries by Chris Mora)
Fullerton head coach Perry Webster has successfully led the Hornets to its fourth 3C2A State Championship game since 2019 after the Hornets dismissed Santa Rosa, 90-65, in a semifinal game at College of the Sequoias in Visalia.
The win was Fullerton's 27th straight victory. The Hornets lone loss came to at the hands of West Los Angeles on November 19.
On Sunday, Webster will try to win his fifth community college championship, and the college's sixth overall. Webster, who became the Hornets' 15th head coach in 2015, has won a state title as a player at Saddleback and then as an assistant for the Bobcats. In 2019 and 2023, Webster led Fullerton to state titles, beating San Francisco in both title games. Webster is the only person in California Community College history to a win state championship as a head coach, assistant and player.
"This is our fifth state championship appearance in the last 10 years," Webster said. "I am so thankful to keep coaching. It is a lot of stress, but I wouldn't trade it for anything."
If San Francisco City beats Citrus later, it will set up yet another showdown between San Francisco City and Fullerton. Both began the march to the state championship game as their respective region's number one seeds. The two programs have gone head-to-head for the state title three times, with Fullerton (31-1) winning twice.
2019 - Fullerton (30-3) 85-79 vs. CC San Francisco (31-2)
2023 - Fullerton (32-1) 83-73 vs. CC San Francisco (29-4)
2025 - CC San Francisco (32-1) 75-58 vs. Fullerton (30-4)
If Citrus should upend San Francisco City, it would set up a rematch of one of the season's most epic games this season when Fullerton went double overtime to beat the Owls, 116-113, on November 21.
The championship game will tipoff at 3:30 pm.
Since Webster became the Hornets' head coach, Fullerton has established itself as a perennial contender year-in and year-out. The Hornets won yet another Orange Empire Conference championship, arguablly the state's toughest conference, with seven of the eight teams advancing to the post-season this season.
Santa Rosa head coach Craig McMillan said prior to tipoff that the Bear Cubs (27-5) needed to disrupt Fullerton's offensive efficiency and control the boards. Unfortunately, Fullerton dominated in both areas.
The Hornets finished the contest with a plus-8 advantage in rebounding. And, all year, the Hornets have relied on defensive pressure to create turnovers and speed up the game. Santa Rosa struggled to effectively match the Hornets' game pace. Fullerton scored 44 points in the paint and finished shooting 61 percent from the floor, making 34 of 55 shots, including 11 of 23 three pointers. Santa Rosa struggled from the floor, making just 24 of 59 (41 percent). From the three-point line, the Bear Cubs were 9 of 27.
"Offensively, I didn't think Santa Rosa would be able to guard us," Webster said. "But honestly, I was more proud of our defensive effort. Santa Rosa is such a good offensive team and Craig is such a great coach. Guarding their five-man rotation for forty minutes is really hard. But I felt our guys really locked in and made it hard for them to get any real offensive momentum."
With Fullerton's 35-point victory over the Bear Cubs, the Hornets are now plus 98 points in their four post-season games, outscoring their opponents by 33, 19, 11 and 35 points.
"We have been playing well of late," Webster said. "Although, we didn't play as well as I would have liked yesterday (vs. San Jose City), I knew because we have talented guys that they just need some time to figure things out (on this type of stage)."
McMillan said, he needed significant scoring contributions from their top players to beat Fullerton. Unfortunately, Santa Rosa finished the contest with its lowest point total since scoring 51 points vs. San Francisco on November 2. Only one player scored in double figures — Gavin Early with 14.
Fullerton had nine player score, five in double figures, led by Yoda Oke with 19 points. He added 10 rebounds. Others in double figures included Trey Thompson, who came off the bench, with 14; Donovan Pitts with 13; Jaedyn Patterson with 12 and Brayden Smith with 11.
During the first nine minutes of the game, the two teams exchanged baskets. Although, neither team shot the ball well in the beginning. Fullerton even struggled with its ball-control, turning the ball over five times in the first nine minutes, Fullerton, however, managed to take a 16-12 lead after 10 minutes. The Hornets continued to extend its lead to 21-12 behind their tight perimeter defense, which led them to controlling the boards, something McMillan said they had to stop.
Santa Rosa made a run at Fullerton, getting within six with 5:38 remaining, but the Hornets extended the lead to nine at 39-30. Santa Rosa answered, scoring the next five points to get within four at 29-25. But again, Fullerton went on a run, resulting in the Hornets regaining its nine-point lead at 34-25 with minutes remaining in the first half. Fullerton went on to extend its lead to 40-27 as the Hornets scored the final six points of the first half. The Hornets also limited their early ball-handling struggles. After committing five turnovers in the first five minutes, the Hornets committed just one turnover in the final 15 minutes of the half. And had just two turnovers in the second half.
Fullerton came out in the second half and quickly put the game away. Less than four months in, Fullerton had built a 20-point lead at 53-33. Santa Rosa was never able to cut the lead to under 20.