Williams OT Buzzer Beater is Winner in Thriller at Glendale

Glendale, CA - At the end of regulation, the Citrus College Men's Basketball team certainly could have had a reason to hang their head as they saw the host Vaqueros hit a buzzer beating three to send the game into overtime. The Owls didn't do that though, and they rallied back in overtime, turning the tables on Glendale when sophomore Mark Williams hit a buzzer beater that gave Citrus a 77-74 victory.

 Glendale would run out to an early lead on the night scoring the games first five points, but the Owls answered with an 12-2 run over their own to take a 12-7 lead. The Vaqueros would answer back over the next handful of possessions, and the game became a back and forth affair until Glendale went on an 11-0 run to go up 34-24. Citrus would cut into the lead before the break, but would go into the half trailing 30-36.

In the second half, Citrus came out with a vengeance embarking on a 20-3 run that saw them jump out to a 11-point lead. Over the next four minutes, Glendale would chip away at the Owls lead pulling to within three with a little over nine minutes to play and from that point forward it was game on.

Citrus would never give up the lead in regulation, but they could never put any distance between themselves and the Vaqueros largely thanks to poor free-throw shooting, hitting just 53.3% of their shots from the charity stripe for the game. Still, the Owls would lead by three with just a little over eight seconds to play and a chance to ice the game with a pair of free-throws. Both fell by the wayside, and Glendale hit a desperation three at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.

The Owls would come out and score the first basket of overtime, but Glendale on a three to take a one point lead. The Owls rallied with a pair of free-throws by freshman Kenneth Cyprian and a layup by sophomore Jordan McNellys, eventually building their lead back up to 74-70 with a minute to go.

Glendale started to work some last second magic again though, getting a basket with 53 seconds to go, and then another game tying one with 10 seconds left to knot the game up at 74-74. With the clock winding down, sophomore Caleb Richey would get the ball to Williams on the left where he drained the game winning shot, continuing to keep Citrus alive in the post-season hunt.

With the win, Citrus improves to 14-12 overall and 8-5 in WSC South play. The Owls have one final must win game, their regular season finale on Saturday at West Los Angeles College for a 5:00 PM tip.