The Fullerton College Hornets opened their season with a 91-55 home win over Vanguard University’s developmental team on Friday, Nov. 1.

Although they started off slow, the Hornets were able to take an early 12-10 lead by passing the ball and creating turnovers.

“We shared the ball, we played together both offensively and defensively,” said assistant coach McKay Lasalle.

The Hornets played great defense throughout the game, holding the Vanguard Lions to 16 points in the first half.

Hornets freshman Jacob Eyman towered over the Vanguard players, creating many opportunities for the Fullerton offense. Eyman would finish the day with 12 points.

Forward Rj Knibb made the Lions look silly as he managed to bat away three shot attempts while scoring 11 of the Hornets 91 points.

Fullerton really found their rhythm towards the end of the first half going off on a 23-2 run and finishing the half with a whopping 40-16 lead.

Sitting with a comfortable lead at half, most of the Fullerton starters were pulled to rest.

However, Fullerton’s bench put up 51 points in the second half of the game. They did allow 39 points to the Lions, but managed to keep the same intensity and energy throughout the game.

“We didn’t let the gas off on them we kept going and didn’t play down to our competition,” said Tawon Elston, point guard for the Hornets.

The Hornets played hard until the end of the game dominating the Lions by a big margin, 91-55.

Sophomore Omajae Smith was the games leading scorer with 21 points shooting 4-6 from the 3-point line and 75% from the field.

Coming off a big 2018-19 season that lead to the Hornets winning a State Championship, this was an impressive showing early on.

There will be bigger challenges, but the Hornets can only look to improve.

The Fullerton Hornets (1-0) will gear up to host their next game against San Diego Mesa College on Wednesday, Nov. 6.