Men’s Basketball dominates with 19-point victory

Palomar College defeated visiting Orange Coast College by a final score of 79-60.

Connor Larson, Sports Editor

December 17, 2024

#10 Max Zylicz attempts a shot while pressured by a defender.

SAN MARCOS — Men’s basketball gets a commanding win over Orange Coast College by a final score of 79-60 to improve to 6-5 on the season.

Starting guards Matin Madadkar and Isaiah Tolmaire led the Palomar offense with a combined 41 points. Madadkar scored a career-high 21 points, leading the team in scoring during the game. Tolmaire scored 20 points, playing 38 minutes against Orange Coast.

“I’m feeling pretty good; I feel like I defended on both sides; my confidence is at a high right now,” said Madadkar.

Guards Jaidyn Norman and Isaiah Pomare both had double-doubles in the game. Norman had 11 points and 15 rebounds, while Pomare had 10 points had 17 rebounds in the game.

#12 Dylan Kail drives with the ball. (Hector Flores)

Palomar outplayed Orange Coast offensively, shooting 40.8% from the field, 25.7% from three-point range, and outrebounding Orange Coast 56-41.

Head Coach Ivan Patterson told the Telescope earlier in the season that he has a lot of trust in his offense and the guys on the team to hit shots.

Palomar is averaging 76.5 points per game and has scored at least 70 points in seven games this season.

Orange Coast struggled to get anything going on offense during the game, struggling from the field, shooting 28.4%, and from three, shooting 20%.

One of Palomar’s keys to the game was to lock down opposing guard Ronnie Davis. Davis is averaging 21.6 points per game this season and was the primary objective for Palomar.

Palomar College men’s basketball team huddle during a timeout. (Hector Flores)

“He’s the number one leading scorer right now so we were trying to pack the paint to stop him from scoring,” said Madadkar.

Palomar has struggled mightly from three-point range this season, shooting 30% on the year. Coach Patterson didn’t back down from the team shooting three, saying, “We’re a great three-point shooting team; sometimes it falls, sometimes it doesn’t.”

#4 Avant Gilmore with the ball looks to pass or get past a defender. (Hector Flores)

Palomar had a 25-point lead at one point in the game. About halfway through the second half, Palomar had themselves a comfortable lead and ultimately closed out the game with a win, giving them a 6-5 record on the season.

Palomar has one more non-conference game on Dec. 28 vs Pasadena City.

Conference play starts Wednesday, Dec.18, on the road at Southwestern College.

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About the Contributor

Connor Larson, Sports Editor

Connor Larson is in his third semester at Palomar studying journalism. He hopes to transfer to SDSU to get his bachelor's degree and, in the future, become a sports broadcaster. In his free time, he likes to collect baseball cards and vinyl records.