Palomar College Men's Basketball

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Men's Basketball

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2011-12 Season ...

Vaz (15 pts,15 rebounds), Comets stun Jaguars

CHULA VISTA (2-08-2012) -- Palomar shocked two-time defending Pacific Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball champion Southwestern 69-56 on the road on Wednesday night as 7-foot-1 freshman center Joe Vaz scored 15 points and hauled down 15 rebounds.

Chamron Morgan tallied 18 points and Chris Gorman contributed 17 points and eight assists for the Comets.

Palomar (8-16, 6-8) can finish at .500 in the PCAC by winning its final two games, next Wednesday, Feb.15, vs. Cuyamaca at 5 p.m. and Friday, Feb. 17, against Imperial Valley at 7 p.m., both at home.

ABOVE: Nate Coleman takes the ball to the hole to score for the Comets against San Diego City College. BELOW: Joe Vaz scores to give Palomar a 2-0 lead.. -- Photos by Hugh Cox.

First-place City buries 14 3's to down Comets

SAN MARCOS (2-03-2012) -- Visiting San Diego City College swept in to town on Friday evening and knocked down 14 3-point shots, five by Stephon Lamar, as the Knights beat Palomar 68-58 to remain alone atop the Pacific Coast Athletic Conferencve.

Monas Stephens went 10-for-13 from the field as he led four Knights in double figures with 23 points. Lamar had 19 points.

For the Comets, Chris Gorman went9-for-10 from the free throw line and finished with 21 points. He also dished off four assists and played a key role in bringing Palomar, which trailed by as many as 23 points, back in the second half to make the game respectable.

Vuk Ekmec was 6-forp-7 from the field and had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Comets in only 12 minutes of playing time.

Joe Vaz contributed 11 rebounds, including four on the offensive board. Vaz, Chamron Morgan and Zach Ramirez each tallied eight points.

ABOVE: Palomar's Nate Coleman blocks a shot in Comets' 81-66 win at San Diego Mesa on Wednesday evening.. BELOW LEFT: Jake Duffy flies through the air as he watches his shot come off the backboard.-- Photos by Hugh Cox. BELOW RIGHT: Joe Vaz. Both Chamron Morgan and Vaz had double-doubles.

Morgan, Vaz: double-doubles in win vs. Mesa

SAN DIEGO (2-1-2012) -- Chris Gorman (18 points, 5 assists), Chamron Morgan (16 points, 12 rebounds) and Joe Vaz (13 points, 10 rebounds) led visiting Palomar to an 81-66 Pacific Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory ast San Diego Mesa on Wednesday night.

Zach Ramrez scored all 11 of his points in the first half in leading the Comets to a 40-36 lead at intermission.

Morgan also had a crucial defensive performance in the second half, holding Mesa's best player Dee Hugie to just six points over the last 20 minutes.

Vaz, playing with an injury, was 3-for-3 shooting and 7-for-7 from the free throw line for Palomar.

Vaz gave Palomar the lead for good when he dropped in two free throws with 6:15 remaining in the game.

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Coaches vs. Cancer doubleheader this Friday

SAN MARCOS (2-01-2012) -- Palomar's "Coaches vs. Cancer" basketball doubleheader will be played on Friday at The Dome, with the women's team playing Imperial Valley at 5 p.m. and the men facing San Diego City College at 7 p.m.

The California Community College Men's and Women's Basketball Coaches Association are sponsoring the event, with proceeds going directly to the American Cancer Society to promote lifesaving research and programs that improve the quality of life for cancer sufferers.

The doubleheader is being conducted in partnership with the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

Comets fail to show up in 2nd half, lose game

OCEANSIDE (1-28-2012) -- Palomar opened up a 34-28 halftime lead over Highway 78 rival MiraCosta in a nearly-packed, noisy gym at MC on Saturday evening. But the Comets, basically, did not show up for the second half.

The Spartans' pressing defense and Palomar's 27 turnovers did the Comets in as MiraCosta won the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference game 73-56, breaking Palomar';s modest two-game winning streak.

"This was not the same team we were last week, or Wednesday night," said a disappointed Palomar coach John O'Neill, whose Comets were coming off impressive performances in back-to-back wins over Miramar and Grossmont.

For the Comets, Jake Duffy (above left) scored 15 points, 12 in the first half, and also grabbed five defensive rebounds before fouling out. Three Comets fouled out in the game.

Chamron Morgan also was in double figures for Palomar with 14 points. Nate Coleman (above right) grabbed 11 rebounds.

Joe Vaz contributed eight points and seven rebounds off he bench. Chris Gorman, averaging 21 points on the season but held scoreless in the first half, went 5-for-5 from the free throw line in the second half and finished with nine points.

Morgan led the Comets with four assists.

French import Baptiste Boucharel led MiraCosta with 23 points and had a pair of big dunks.

Down 17-2, PC rallies to blow out G-House

SAN MARCOS (1-25-2012) -- Chamron Morgan (left) contributed another double-double and Chris Gorman (right) had 23 points and nine assists on Wednesday evening as Palomar came back from an early 17-2 deficit to beat Grossmont 86-66 in a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball game at the Dome.

Morgan finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds as Palomar roared back to take a 33-30 lead at the half. The Comets led 71-47 with 1:43 to play in the game.

Jake Duffy also scored in double figures for coach John O'Neill's squad with 12 points. Gorman and Duffy each drained four 3-pointers.

Nate Coleman added seven points. Zach Ramirez, Drew Allen, Lee Staples and Joe Voss sparked the Comets off the bench. Vuk Ekmecic made his second straight start but exited the game after eight minutes with an ankle sprain.

Palomar will go after its third straight win when the Comets travel to Highway 78 rival MiraCosta on Saturday for a 5 p.m. game.

Gorman (33), Morgan (double-double) lead way

SAN DIEGO (1-20-2012) -- Chris Gorman (left, 33 points, 5 assists, 3 steals) and Chamron Morgan (right, 15 points, 15 rebounds) led Palomar to a 93-86 Pacific Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball win at Miramar on Friday night.

Gorman and Morgan received plenty of assistance from Jake Duffy (14 points, 6 rebounds from his guard position, 6 assists, 2 steals), Nate Coleman (14 points, 6 rebounds) and Zach Ramirez (9 points, 6 key free throws on 6 attempts) as the Comets avenged an earlier loss to the Jets at home.

Palomar jumped out to early leads of 8-0 and and 22-8, fell behind, re-took the lead on Gorman's bucket off Duffy's assist, stretched its lead to 4 points on a Duffy 3-pointer and converted 16 of 17 free throws down the stretch. Ramirez'' perfect free throw shooting gave PC 5 of its last 8 points.

Gorman, the 5-foot-10 freshman out of El Camino High School ,l went 10-for-17 from the floor, 4-for-9 on 3-pointers and 9-for-10 from the foul line.

Coleman,. Duffy and Joe Vaz contributed momentum-changing blocks in the second half. Vaz also had 6 rebounds.

Alberto Ganis, a freshman guard from Italy who was PCAC Men's Athlete of the Week after leading Miramar to two victories last week, led the Jets with 21 points.

Palomar (5-14, 3-6), which has been frustrated by blowing big leads all season long but trying to end the season with al hot finish, will try to make it three victories in its last four games against Grossmont on Wednesday at the Dome at 5 p.m.

PC stays with state-ranked IVC -- for a while

IMPERIAL (1-18-2012) -- Chris Gorman (left) scored 21 points but the Palomar couldn't stay with the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference co-leaders after trailing by only three points with 16 minutes to play, losing 61-45 on Wednesday evening.

Gorman had 19 points at that juncture, when the Arabs (15-4, 7-1 in conference, ranked No. 13 in the state and No. 7 in Southern California) went into a modified box-and-one on Gorman and collapsed on him to deny him the ball.

Gorman went scoreless for the next 15 minutes and IVC went on a 24-7 run to lead 65-45.

"We face-guarded (Gorman) with five different people," IVC coach Tyson Aye told the Imperial Valley Press. "We made it hard for him to get touches."

Chamron Morgan (12 points) joined Gorman in double figures for Palomar (4-14, 2-6). Jake Duffy and Joe Vaz added eight points apiece.

Morgan and Nate Coleman each contributed seven rebounds for the
Comets.

The Arabs only committed seven fouls and the Comets, who rely heavily on high percentage free throw shooting, only got to the line four times in the game.

Travis Alexander (17 points, 5-for-6 on 3-pointers) and Brandon Newman (16 points, 4-of-7 on 3's) led Imperial Valley.

Comets turn table, rally from 16 down to win

RANCHO SAN DIEGO (1-13-2012) -- Palomar, which has blown more big leads than one would care to count, jammed the bitter medicine it's been taking down Cuyamaca's collective throats on Friday evening.

This time, it was the Comets who came from behind to win, rallying from a 16-point deficit to take home a 63-59 Pacific Coast Athletic Conference victory in the first of three straight road games.

Freshman guard Chris Gorman, who came in averaging 20.4 points per game, was held to three points in the first half but got untracked in the second half and led Palomar scorers with 17 points. He went 7-for-8 on free throws as the Comets were a combined 22-for-25 from the line.

Sophomore guard Jake Duffy (above left) added 13 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and went 5-for-5 from the free throw line, from where he's converted 20 of his last 21 attempts.

Duffy also contributed six rebounds and four assists, and his steal with 22 seconds left in the game, when the Comets were ahead by one point, slit the Coyotes' throats.

Duffy passed the ball to Zach Ramirez, another player who came up big down the stretch. Ramirez was fouled on a lay-up attempt, made both free throws with 17.9 seconds remaining to put Palomar up by three. He then rebounded a missed Cuyamaca three-pointer, was fouled with 0.3 seconds showing on the clock, and put the game completely out of reach, made the second of two free throws to imake it 63-59.

Ramirez, a red-shirt freshman out of San Marcos High School, also finished in double figures with 10 points.

Then there was the Comets' rapidly-improving freshman starting post man Joe Vaz (above right), who led both teams in rebounds with 11.

As if anyone could miss Vaz, who is an imposing figure at 7-foot-1.

Cuyamaca got 20 points from University of San Francisco transfer Chioke Walker. The Coyotes were hurt when their sparkplug freshman guard Cody Bermudez, who began the game with four quick defensive rebounds at 5-foot-11, suffered a dislocated finger in the game's seventh minute to end his night.

The young Comets, who have led in most of their losses by double digits, improve to 4-13, 2-5 in the PCAC. They'll visit conference co-leader Imperial Valley on Wednesday, then travel to Miramar next Friday in the midst of a point on their schedule when they play nine of 11 games on the road.

Defending champs overcome PC's 16-point lead

SAN MARCOS (1-06-12) -- Palomar again blew a big second-half lead, this one 16 points with 13:minutes left in the game, as two-time defending Pacific Coast Athletic Conference champion Southwestern rallied to down the Comets 67-63 at The Dome on Friday night.

Chris Gorman (left) led Palomar (3-13, 1-5) with a game-high 23 points. Chamron Morgan had 14 points and 12 rebounds, a total that led both teams.

Palomar again wasted a good night at the free throw line, where the Comets went 24-for-28.

Gorman went 9-for-10 at the free throw stripe. Morgan and Jake Duffy (above right) each was 7-for-8 from the line.

Gorman also had six rebounds and three steals. Zach Ramirez led Palomar with five assists. Joe Vaz blocked two Southwestern shots.

The Jaguars are 9-6 on the season, 3-2 in conference.

Gorman is honored as PCAC Athlete of Week

SAN DIEGO (1-10-2012) -- Palomar freshman basketball player Chris Gorman has been honored by the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference as Men's Athlete of the Week for the week that ended on Sunday.

Gorman (El Camino High) is averaging 20.4 points and 4.1 assists per game. Hee had 20 points, five assists and three steals against first-place San Diego City, then came back with 23 points, going 9-for-10 from the field, vs. two-time PCAC champion Southwestern..

Comets can't hold lead vs. first-place City

SAN DIEGO (1-04-12) -- Chris Gorman (left) scored 20 points and Nate Coleman (right) had 11 rebounds, but Palomar was unable to hold onto a four-point lead midway through the second half against Pacific Coast Athletic Conference leader San Diego City College on Wednesday evening

The Knights (11-5, 5-0 PCAC) broke open a two-point game in the final five minutes to put the game away at Harry West Gymnasium as they turned back the Comets 84-71. Gorman also led Palomar (3-12, 1-4), who have had trouble holding leads all season, with five assists and three steals.

Chamron Morgan (14 points, seven rebounds) and Jake Duffy (11 points, 8-for-8 on free throws, five rebounds) also scored in double figures for Palomar.

City College, which was tied for first place entering the game, took over the undisputed conference lead when Grossmont upset the other co-leader, Imperial Valley, 64-54.

Palomar misses 2 late free throws, loses by 1

SANTA CLARITA (12-29-11) -- Palomar 's men's basketball team dropped a 51-50 heartbreaker to Cerritos in the third-place game at the Cougar Holiday Classic at College of the Canyons on Thursday.

The Comets missed two free throws, which would have won the game, in the closing seconds.

Joe Vaz (above), Palomar's 7-foot-1 freshman center from Rancho Buena Vista High School, had 16 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.

Chris Gorman scored 16 points. Jamal Jomnes added 10 points and six rebounds, and Chamron Morgan contributed nine rebounds.

Palomar us 3-11 on a season which has seen the Comets lose big leads and close games over and over. Cerritos is 8-6.

Comets fall in OT in semis; Gorman scores 25

SANTA CLARITA (12-28-11) -- Host College of the Canyons overcame 25 points by Chris Gorman (left) and a six-point halftime deficit on Wednesday night to down Palomar 71-62 in overtime in the championship semifinals of the Cougar Classic.

The Comets, coming off an upset win over defending Foothill Conference champion Chaffey in Tuesday's first round, led 28-22 at halftime. The score was tied after regulation 60-60.

Chamron Morgan had 13 rebounds for the Comets, 11 on the defensive board. Joe Vaz contributed 12 points and two blocks. Gorman also had four assists and two steals.

The Cougars, who crushed Orange Coast 96-40 in the opening round, advanced to 9-5 on the season. The Comets are 3-10.

Palomar will play Cerritos, a n 82-68 loser the Antelope Valley in the other semifinal game, in the third-place game on Thursday at 3 p.m.

Gorman (27 points), Comets upset Chaffey

SANTA CLARITA (12-27-11) -- Chris Gorman (left) pumped in 27 points and Palomar's men's basketball team upset Chaffey 67-59 in the first round of the Cougar Classic on Tuesday evening at College of the Canyons.

Chamron Morgan (16 points, 16 rebounds), 7-foot-1 and Joe Vaz (right, 12 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks) also had big games for the Comets, who won for the second straight game.

Jake Duffy contributed six rebounds. Nate Coleman had five boards.

The Comets are 3-9, while the defending Foothill Conference champion Panthers are now 8-4.

Palomar will play in the championship semifinals on Wednesday at 7 p.m. vs. College of the Canyons, a 96-40 winner over Orange Coast on Tuesday.

Gorman scores 28; Comets rock Mesa 91-79

SAN MARCOS (12-16-11) -- Led by freshman guard Chris Gorman (left), who scored a game-high 28 points, Palomar knocked off San Diego Mesa 91-79 at The Dome for its first Pacific Coast Athletic Conference victory.

The Comets saw a 19-point lead, a margin they led by three times late in the first half, go by the boards and the Olympians battled back to lead twice in the second half.

This time, however, the Comets refused to be denied. After losing a string of games after blowing leads, the Comets grabbed the lead right back and drew away to the 12-point victory.

Chamron Morgan (above right) hauled down 12 rebounds for Palomar, and the Comets put five players in double figures -- Gorman, Jake Duffy (14 points), Jamal Jones (12 points), Vuk Ekmecic (10 points) and 7-foot-1 Joe Vaz (10 points).

Jones also dished off seven assists. Gorman had five assists, Duffy four.

Gorman was 9-for-13 from the field and also was 1-oof-12 from the free throw line. Vaz made five field goals on six attempts and contributed five boards. By going 4-for-5 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line in only 13 minutes, Ekmecic is 9-for-10 on field goals and 4-for-4 on free throws in his last two games.

Austin Cloes, who has seen limited playing time this season, turned in a strong stint off the bench as the Comets stretched their first-half lead to 19 points.

The Comets shot 59 percent from the field (33-for-56) and were 16-25 fore 64 percent in the second half.

Palomar (2-9, 1-3) will be off from PCAC play until Wednesday, Jan. 4, and Friday, Jan. 6, when the Comets visit first-place San Diego City College, then host two-time defending champion Southwestern. In the meantime, they'll play in the Cougar Holiday Classic at College of the Canyons on Dec. 27-29.

ABOVE: JamalJones (21) dunks the basketball againswt MiraCosta on Wednesday evening. -- Photo by Hugh Cox. BELOW LEFT: Vuk Ekmecic, who went 4-for-4 from the field and finished with 10 points and 5 rebounds. BELOW RIGHT: Jake Duffy knocks down one of his 4 3-pointers. -- Photo by Hugh Cox

Palomar leads by 18 points but loses 80-75

SAN MARCOS (12-14-11) -- It was a familiar story for the Palomar men's basketball team Wednesday evening.

The Comets again were unable to hold a lead, opening up an 18-point advantage over Highway 78 rival MiraCosta with 15:28 to play, then dropping an 80-75 decision at the Dome.

Palomar led 37-32 at halftime in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference game after being on top by 14 points. The Comets then went on a 17-4 run early in the second half to go in front 54-36 on a basket by Vuk Ekmecic before allowing the Spartans to come back.

Chris Gorman led the Comets (1-9, 0-3 in the PCAC) with 19 points and eight assists.

Jake Duffy scored 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and dished off four assists.

Chamron Morgan contributed 17 points and 13 rebounds. Ekmecic went 4-for-4 from the field. He also scored in double figures with 10 points and had five re bounds. Nate Coleman had six rebounds. The Comets outrebounded the Spartans 42-30 to no avail.

Andre Warren led five players in double figures for MiraCosta with 22 points.

Comets lose 10-point lead, game to G-House

EL CAJON (12-9-11) -- Palomar, leading by 10 points with just under 6 minutes to play in the first half, saw the lead and the game slip away as the Comets dropped a 78-65 Pacific Coast Athletic Conference decision to host Grossmont on Friday evening.

Chamron Morgan (left) led the Comets in defeat with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Morgan, who went 8-for-11 from the field, was joined in double figures for Palomar by Chris Gorman with 14 points and Joe Vaz (right) with 12. Vaz and Jamal Jones had five rebounds each. Zach Ramirez passed off for four assists.

Cory Wittick, a sophomore guard from Tesoro High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, led the Griffins with 24 points, going 6-for-8 on 3-pointers. Grossmont is 4-4 on the season, 1-1 in the PCAC. The Comets fell to 1-8, 0-2.

ABOVE: Palomar guard Jake Duffy drives around Miramar's leaping Justin Hentley (3) on Wednesday evening at The Dome. Duffy took the ball to the basket and scored, was fouled and converted the free throw for a 3-point play. Photo by Hugh Cox. BELOW LEFT: The Comets' Chris Gorman, who led both teams with 25 points and also dished off six assists.

Gorman, Duffy come up big but Comets tumble

SAN MARCOS (12-7-11) -- Chris Gorman (25 points, six assists) and Jake Duffy (16 points, six assists) had big games against Miramar on Wednesday evening.

But Palomar dropped its Pacific Coast Athletic Conference opener 78-68 at the Dome as the Jets rode Sean Orlando's red-hot shooting to a 44-31 lead.

Orlando, who was coming off his second injury in the Palomar Thanksgiving Tournament in two seasons, pumped through four straight 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes, when he tallied 18 of his game-high 20 points for the Jets. He went 7-for-11 from the field and 4-for-5 from behind the 3-point arc for the night.

The 6-foot-1 sophomore guard from Notre Dame Prep in Phoenix had been sidelined by as concussion on the first day of the 2010 Palomar tournament. One year later, Orlando was again injured on the first day of the tournament. This time, he was sidlined with a back injury.

The Comets (1-7 overall) fell further behind in the second half Wednesday, battled back to within three points with 8 minutes remaining in the game.

But Miramar, under one-time Palomar starting guard Nick Gehler, who also was an assistant coach for the Comets, won it with a late second-half surge.

Chamron Morgan led Palomar rebounders with eight.

The Comets will try to even their PCAC record at 1-1 when the Comets go on the road to play Grossmont on Friday at 5 p.m.

PC trades lead back & forth but gets bounced

SAN MARCOS (11-26-11) (11-27-11)-- Palomar traded the lead back and forth with Los Angeles Trade Tech for most of the second half on Saturday evening, but eventually was eliminated lfrom its own tournament 83-75.

The Comets, who have been in almost all of their games in the second half, have been unable to put opponents away are 1-6 on the season.

Palomar remained in game with its free throw shooting, converting 32 of 35 attempts (91.4 percent), including an 8-for-8 performance by Chris Gorman (above left), 8-for-8 by Jake Duffy (above right) and 6-for-6 by Vuk Ekmecic (6-for-6).

Gorman once again led Palomar scorers with 22 points. Duffy scored 14 points, and Ekmecic also was in double figures with 10 points.

The Comets couldn't hold onto a 36-33 halftime lead.

In the championship semifinals on Saturday, Yuba defeated Eastern Arizona 91-81 in overtime and Mt. San Jacinto downed Southweswtern 75-52. Fullerton turned back Miramar 67-62 in the other consolatiojn semifinal.

In Sunday's championship game, Mt. San Jacinto defeated Yuba 85-65. Southwestern beat Eastern Arizona 59-52 in the third-place game. L.A. Trade Tech held off Fullerton 81-74 for the consolation title.

ABOVE: Vuk Ekmecic sets a pick for Chamron Morgan (20 against Eastern Arizona on Friday evening. BELOW: Jake Duffy scores for the Comets. -- Photos by Hugh Cox

Eastern Arizona avenges last season's upset

SAN MARCOS (11-25-11) -- Eastern Arizona College from Thatcher, AZ, avenged an opening-round upset at the hands of Palomar a year ago as the Gila Monsters won 69-60 to begin the Palomar Thanksgiving Tournament on Friday evening at The Dome

Chris Gorman again led the Comets with 16 points. Jamal Jones scored 13 points. Chamron Morgan grabbed 10 rebounds. Nate Coleman tallied eight points.

Eastern Arizona advanced to 7-1 on the season in a rematch of teams that faced each other in the first round last season. Palomar is 1-5.

The Comets will play Los Angeles Trade Tech, which lost 104-88 to Yuba on Friday, in the consolation semifinals at 3 pm. Saturday. The other consolation semifinal at 1 p.m. matches Miramar and Fullerton.

In the championship semifinals, Southwestern will play Mt. San Jacinto at 5 p.m. and Eastern Arizona faces Yuba at 7 p.m.

Southwestern defeated Fullerton 81-77 in its opening-round game on Friday. Mt. San Jacinto defeated Miramar 80-72.

Comets face Eastern Arizona on Friday night

SAN MARCOS (11-23-11) -- Palomar's men's basketball squad will host Eastern Arizona College of Thatcher, AZ, on Friday at The Dome at 7 p.m. at the Dome in the opening round of the Palomar Thanksgiving Tournament.

The visiting Gila Monsters, ranked 20th in the nation in the NJCAA (non-California community colleges), come in with a 6-1 record and will try to avenge an upset loss to the Comets one year ago.

Other first-round games in the three-day tournament: Miramar vs. Mt. San Jacinto at 1 p.m., College of the Desert vs. Southwestern at 3 p.m. and Yuba vs. Los Angeles Trade Tech at 5 p.m.

The tournament will run through Sunday.

PC drops two (71-67 in OT, 73-67) on weird day

FULLERTON / SAN DIEGO (11-19-11) -- Being forced by a scheduling nightmare into a situation in which it had to play two games in two cities a few hours apart on Saturday, Palomar dropped back-to-back men's basketball heartbreakers.

Placed in a nearly-impossible situation when San Diego City College changed dates of its Knights Invitational so it conflicted with the Fullerton College Classic, the Comets fell 71-67 to Los Angeles Southwest in overtime at Fullerton and 73-67 to Porterville at City College.

Against L.A. Southwest, Chris Gorman (18 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists), Jamal Jones (13 points, 7 rebounds), Jake Duffy (11 points), Vaz (10 points) and Chamron Morgan (10 points) led the Comets.

Against Porterville, Palomar was led by Gorman (19 points), Nate Coleman (15 points) and Morgan (10 points, 9 rebounds).

The Comets will return to action this upcoming Friday through Sunday when they host the Palomar College Thanksgiving Tournament at The Dome. The Comets will face Eastern Arizona in the feature game on Friday's first day at 7 p.m.

Palomar beats COD, will play 2 games in 1 day

FULLERTON (11-18-11) -- Led by freshmen Chris Gorman (El Camino High School), 7-foot-1 center Joey Vaz (Rancho Buena Vista) and Nate Coleman (El Camino), Palomar knocked off College of the Desert 75-72 in the Fullerton College Classic on Wednesday.

The win puts the Comets into a unique situation Saturday as they take on Los Angeles Southwest for the consolation championship at Fullerton at 3 p.m., then head down I-5 to play Porterville in the consolation semis for the Knights Invitational at San Diego City College at 7 p.m.

In the win over COD, Gorman scored a game-high 17 points and passed off for four assists. Vas contributed 11 points, going 5-for-7 from the field, eight rebounds and a block. Coleman pulled down 13 rebounds, six on the offensive board.

Palomar (1-2) led 43-36 at the half.

Comets could play 2 games in 1 day Saturday

FULLERTON (11-18-11) -- Palomar plays College of the Desert in the consolation semifinals of the Fullerton Holiday Classic on Friday and, if the Comets' win, they'll play two games in two different tournaments in a single day for the first time in school history on Saturday.

Due to a schedule mix-up, the Comets already are playing either Citrus or Porterville in the consolation semifinals at the Knights Invitational hosted by San Diego City College on Saturday.

A win Friday would also put them in the consolation finals against Los Angeles Southwest or Rio Hondo, also Saturday, in the consolation finals at Fullerton.

Palomar (0-2) dropped a 64-56 decision to Barstow (2-2) to begin the Fullerton tournament on Thursday evening.

Chris Gorman (above) scored 21 points for the Comets. Chamron Morgan added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Joe Vaz, the Comets' 7-foot-1 freshman center, had seven points and seven rebounds.

Duffy's goes 6-for-7 on 3's, scores 21 in loss

SAN DIEGO (11-08-11) -- Sophomore guard Jake Duffy (left) had his biggest game Tuesday night since helping lead Murrieta Valley High to a victory over Compton and a CIF Southern Section title two years ago.

Duffy drained six-of-seven 3-point shots and scored a game-high 21 points, but the Comets dropped their season opener to Mt. San Jacinto 88-70 in the Knights Invitational at San Diego City College's Harry West Gymnasium.

Also for Palomar, Chris Gorman had 17 points, four rebounds and five assists, and Nate Coleman contributed 13 points and eight rebounds.

ABOVE: Vuk Ekmecic, a 6-foot-8 sophomore center from San Marcos High School who is shown hitting the floor to grab a loose ball against Imperial Valley a year ago, is among returnees for the Comets, who tip off the season next Tuesday in the San Diego City College Tournament. BELOW: Jake Duffy, a 6-foot-3 guard who helped Vista Murrieta High School to a CIF Southern Section championship two years ago, also returns from last season. Duffy (22) is shown on defense against Cuyamaca. -- Photos by Hugh Cox

Comets hope to bid for 2011-12 conference title

SAN MARCOS (11-4-11) -- Palomar last won a Pacific Coast Conference basketball championship in 2005-06 season, when coach John O'Neil guided the Comets to their fourth conference title in a six-season span.

Since then, Palomar has been up and down and consequently and in and out of the state playoffs, the conference was re-named Pacific Coast Athletic Conference two years ago and Southwestern has dominated the newly re-named PCAC.

O;Neill's latest Palomar squad hopes to regain their position atop the conference during the 2011-12 season, which appears to be both better top to bottom and more competitive at the top than in recent seasons.

The Comets will open the season this upcoming Tuesday, when they face Mt. San Jacinto at 7 p.m. to begin the Knights Invitational at City College's Harry West Gymnasium. After Tuesday's game, the Comets will be off until the following week, when they conclude play in the City College tournament, then play in the Fullerton College Men's Basketball Classic.

The Comets two key players from last season, when they finished in the middle of the pack in the PCAC and also have what appears to be a strong group of returnees from two years ago, red-shirt freshmen and new recruits.

Key players back from last season: are 6-foot-3 guard Jake Duffy (Murrieta Valley) who averaged 6.1 points in conference and was an 80 percent free throw shooter and 6-8 center Vuk Ekmecic (San Marcos). The other returnee from a year ago is Lizardo Reynoso, a 6-6 wing from San Pasqual. Chamron Morgan, a 6-5 wing from Jarupa Valley, was an important part of the 2009-10 team.

Chris Gorman, a 5-10 freshman from El Camino High, is the Comets' new point guard, and Joe Vas, a 7-1 center from Rancho Buena Vista, is the tallest player in the history of the program who the coaches feel could produce big things in the future.

Calvin Smith, a 6-6 red-shirt freahman from Glendora High School who was briefly at Citrus College, is coming off an injury and off-season knee surgery and will contribute as the season progresses.

O'Neill is carrying a 15-player roster.

2010-11 Season ...

ABOVE: Jeremy Ford, shown dunking vs. San Diego City College last season, will play at Cal State San Marcos. BELOW LEFT: Greg Anderson, who has accepted a scholarship to NCAA Division II runner-up BYU-Hawaii. BELOW RIGHT: Ray Purtle, who signed with Bethany University in Lindsborg, Kansas.-- File photos by Hugh Cox

Anderson to D-II national runner-up BYU-Hawaii

SAN MARCOS (7-21-11) -- Five Palomar players have signed with four-year colleges, including Greg Anderson with NCAA Division II national runner-up BYU-Hawaii.

The Seasiders lost to Bellarmine 71-68 in the 2011 national title game at Springfield, MA.

Anderson, who de-committed from San Diego Christian, is a 6-foot-7 forward from Paloma Valley High in Menifee who averaged 10.7 points and 6.8 rebounds for the Comets during the 2010-11 season.

Other Palomar players who have signed, all with NAIA schools, are Ray Purtle (Fallbrook High) with Bethany (Kansas), Jeremy Ford (Mission Hills High) with Cal State San Marcos, and Kristoff Thande and Craig Levinson with Pacifica College of Riverside.

Purtle averaged 12.8 points, Ford 10.7.

Anderson and Purtle, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard, both were second-team All-Pacific Coast Athletic Conference selections.

Ford, a 6-foot-4 center, and Thande, a 6-3 guard, were All-PCAC honorable mention picks. Thande prepped at University High School in Los Angeles.

Levinson, a 6-3 forward from Auckland, New Zealand, played for the Comets in 2009-2010 and red-shirted last season.

7-foot-1 Palomar recruit Paz is All-Star MVP

SAN MARCOS (4-8-11) -- Joey Vaz, the 7-foot-1 center from Rancho Buena Vista High who is both literally and figuratively one of Palomar's biggest recruiting targets, was named MVP for the San Diego County team that defeated Riverside County 98-73 in the first of two games in the 7th Annual Boys High School Classic on Friday evening at the Dome.

In the second game, Riverside County beat San Diego County 104-71.

Vaz scored 23 points for San Diego in Game 1. Casian McNamara (Guajome Park Academy) scored 20 points.

For Riverside County, Sam Kruk and Deonte Palm each tallied 12 points. Drew Malveaux (Yucaipa) had 10 points.

In Game 2, featuring another group of players, Shannon Fowler (Corona Roosevelt) led the winning Riverside County team with 15 points. Mark Wilson (Riverside Martin Luther King), Darrin Skinner (Riverside J.W. North) and Brandon Ruffin (Corona Santiago) added 12 points each. Josh Richardson (Temecula Valley) scored 10.

Jacob Snow (El Camino) Cody Bermudes (Clairemont) each scored 12 points to lead San Diego in the second game. Chris Gorman (El Camino) and Max Heller (Torrey Pines each had 10.