From the Jaws of Defeat
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Southwestern (8-6) | 48 | 39 | 87 |
|
Citrus (6-5) | 47 | 41 | 88 |
Glendora, CA -- The Citrus College Men's Basketball program ran their win streak to a season high three games, and moved a game over .500 for the first time all year of Friday evening. The Owls exacted some revenge and snatched a victory away from the jaws of defeat in a nail biting 88-87 win over visiting Southwestern College.
The game, which had nine ties and 12 lead changes, was a burner from the tip. The two teams traded buckets in the opening minutes before a small 5-0 run by the visiting Jaguars gave Southwestern an early 9-5 lead. Southwestern would hang onto that lead for the remainder of the first half, opening up their largest lead of the game 40-29 with just over five minutes left in that first frame.
After a rough stretch, Citrus finally got the engine to turn back over, getting a trey from sophomore Jordan Jefferson and three straight triples from sophomore John Roach to pull back even with Southwestern at 45 all. The Jaguars would finally answer with a three of their own, but a putback falling away jumper with tenths of a second left on the clock in the half by freshman Mark Williams put Citrus down by just one 47-48 headed into the break.
In the second half the Owls seemed to keep momentum on their side, getting a bucket from sophomore Dominique Walker on their opening possession to take Citrus' first lead of the game since the opening minutes. From that point forward it was a seesaw battle, with the two teams exchanging leads at seemingly every turn of the head. Citrus' largest lead of the night would be a six point 59-53 lead with 16:29 left, after a big triple deep on the right side of the wing from sophomore Steven Polee Jr. in his season debut.
Eventually though Southwestern took back over the drivers seat and put the Owls in their own six point hole with just over eight minutes to go. Despite another deficit the Owls never rattled. Citrus slowly clawed their way back into the game. Trailing by three with just under five to play, freshman Tyler LaCour tied the game back up at 84 all with 3:47 to go. Three possessions later freshman Ryan Wiley put Citrus up two after laying it up and in off the glass after taking a pass from sophomore Justin Childress.
The Jaguars would tie the game back up with 1:29 to go, but it was Wiley who once again gave Citrus the lead when he hit a fadeaway just to the right of the key with 59 seconds left to make it 88-86. Southwestern would draw a foul with three seconds left, and after hitting the first free-throw missed the second. The ensuing rebound went off an Owl, giving the Jaguars one more chance with two seconds and change. Southwestern would get a good look, but the shot clanged off the side of the rim preserving the one point win.
In the win, Citrus was led by Roach's game high 22 points. Walker added 15 and seven assists, while Wiley and LaCour each had 12.
With the win, Citrus improves to 6-5 on the year. The Owls will be off until December 31st, when they'll travel to State #1 Mt. San Antonio College, to take on the Mounties at 3:00 PM in the final non-conference contest of the year for the Owls.
