The Hornets improved to 5-0 on Saturday night after defeating the College of the Desert Roadrunners 72-69 at home.

The Hornets came into Saturday’s match-up with an impressive 4-0 record and outscoring opponents by nearly 30 points per game.

However, the Hornets are still without head coach Perry Webster, who is serving a five-game suspension dealt at the end of last season.

Assistant coach McKay Lasalle has been filling in for coach Webster during the suspension.

The Hornets were tested early falling behind to the Roadrunners 10-4.

After grinding their way back into the game, tying the score at 15 the Hornets went on a 10-1 run with nearly eight minutes left in the first half.

After gaining a 25-16 lead Fullerton remained in the lead the rest of the half heading into the locker room leading 38-30.

The Hornets were lead in the first half by sophomore Guard Tawon Elston who put up 14 points in 10 minutes off the bench.

Sophomore Guard Omajae Smith was the second-leading scorer for Fullerton in the first half with nine points.

In their previous four games the Hornets were able to run away with a victory in the second half but this time, the Roadrunners had different plans.

Fullerton had its largest lead of 14 with 12:24 left in the second half.

By the 5:56 mark, the Roadrunners had tied the game at 66 following a three-pointer from Joshua Jones.

The final five minutes of the contest was like two heavyweight boxers exchanging hay-makers.

With 13 seconds left, leading 70-69, freshman center Jacob Eyman was fouled and had the opportunity to extend the Hornets lead to three.

He sunk both free throws and on the following possession, the Hornets defense stepped up and got a huge stop to win the game.

“[Defense] It’s the staple of our program… so that’s a good thing for us to finish the game off with,” said coach Lasalle.

Elston finished the game as the Hornets leading scorer with 22 points.

Smith was the second-leading scorer with 16 points 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Eyman wasn’t very far behind with 15 points to go along with 6 rebounds and 5 blocks.

The Hornets were able to hold the Roadrunners to 32.8% field goal percentage but allowed them to shoot 50% from 3-point range.

Fullerton struggled offensively, scoring nearly 20 points under their season average but they did still manage to shoot 50% from field goal range and 52.9% from 3-point range.

The Hornets looks to continue their hot start with their head coach returning for the remainder of the season.

Next Up: The Hornets will hit the road and take on Santa Monica College on Wednesday Nov. 20 at 7 p.m.