COD (0-3) showed an impressive amount of improvement as they took one of the best teams in Southern California to the limit, but fell to the Walnut Mt. San Antonio Mounties, 82-72.

The Roadrunners were finally able to add freshman guard Philippe Salawa (Fontana Azariel Blanchard Miller) to the lineup and he was explosive off of the bench as he led the team with 14 points, shooting 5 for 11 from the field and grabbing two steals on the night.

The Mounties took an early 6-0 lead, but Desert would not back down as they fought back to get within five, 15-10. As Mt. San Antonio built an 11-point lead, 24-13, the Roadrunners would again fight back to get within five, 30-25. At halftime, Desert found themselves down eight and within striking distance, 41-33.

Unfortunately, the Roadrunners would only get to within five points, 41-36, then the Mounties would go on a 13-2 run to go up 54-38 with 13:31 left in the game and that would be it, Desert could go no further. The effort was greatly improved and made for a positive outlook as the 2016-17 rolls on.

Both freshman starting guard Shaquille Russell (Reseda Cleveland) and sophomore starting forward Dajuan Fulgham (Montevallo, AL) racked up 13 points. Russell would shoot 5 of 11 from the field, while going 2 for 5 from three-point range. 

Fulgham went an impressive 4 for 5 from the field and 4 for 5 from the charity stripe, leading the team in total boards with seven and blocks with three on the night.

Information, Photos & Story provided by COD Sports Information.