Shots Don’t Fall for Owls as They Lose WSC East Opener at LA Valley

Valley Glen, CA - The Citrus College Men's Basketball team shot just 37.7% from the floor on Saturday evening, including a miserable 38.8% from shots inside the 3-point arc, a range they normally convert 48.9% of their attempts from. Their host meanwhile, LA Valley College, shot 50% from the floor including a blistering 55.6% from downtown as they upset the State #16 Citrus, 82-80 in overtime.

Things predictably got off to a miserable start for Citrus, as they missed first eight shots from the floor, and a pair of free-throws in the opening four minutes of the game. Freshman Khalil Williams would finally put the Owls on the board with a layup with 15:20 left in the first half, but Citrus was already in a hole.

Luckily for Citrus, LA Valley didn't have an easy time getting points up on the scoreboard. The Owls would tie up the game for the first time at the 14:10 mark after a triple by Williams, and nabbed their first lead of the game on a three by freshman Josh Caston that made it 19-17 midway through the first.

The Monarchs would reclaim the lead two possessions later, and Citrus would trail for the rest of the first half. Valley's largest lead would come in the final minute when they pushed their advantage to six points, but a pair of free-throws by Caston with six seconds to go would have Citrus down just four 35-39 headed into halftime.

In the second half, LA Valley firmly maintained their grip on the lead, pushing it to seven points at the 16:04 mark. Citrus would continue to scrap though, and eventually took the lead back for themselves, getting a three ball from freshman Alexios Ziska with 11:23 to go that made it 58-56 and then experienced their largest lead of the game when Ziska hit another from downtown on Citrus' next trip down the floor that put the Owls up 61-56.

At that point, it looked like Citrus might finally have turned the corner and begin to take the game over. Valley had other ideas in mind. The Monarchs would answer every Citrus punch and would eventually go back on top 70-67 with 3:00 left. Sophomore Tyler LaCour would lay the ball up and in off the glass on the Owls' ensuing possession to cut their deficit back to one, but after the two schools traded missed chances, Valley got a big three out of a timeout to make it 73-69 with 1:09 to go.

With the ball, and in desperate need of a score, Williams took the initiative, drove to the basket, and had his shot blocked on a layup attempt. Williams didn't give up though, grabbed his own rebound, and hit a jumper two seconds later to pull the Owls back to within two. Needing a stop, the Owls sunk in on defense and got just2 that, with freshman Kyle Gray reeling in the rebound.

Gray got the ball out to Caston, who would be fouled with 18 seconds left. Caston went to the line and calmly sank both attempts tying the game up at 73. LA Valley would hold the ball for one last possession, but the Owls avoided an exit in regulation when Valley's attempt from three at the buzzer missed.

LA Valley took the early lead in OT, scoring on the first time they had the ball, just two seconds into the contest. Caston would tie the game up shortly thereafter, and Gray would give the Owls their only lead in overtime when he hit the front end of two free-throws to make it 76-75. LA Valley would regain the lead getting a three, and then hitting one of their two free-throw attempts to push back up 79-76 with 1:43 left.

LaCour would get the Owls back on the board, getting a layup after a crucial offensive board by sophomore Donn-Christian Corbin extended a Citrus possession that made it 78-79. The Owls would have some chances to regain the lead, turning the ball over after forcing their own turnover, and missing a pair of free-throws with 20 seconds to go, but all still wasn't lost.

The Monarchs would go back up two after2 hitting the back end of two free-throws with 13 seconds to go. Corbin would take the inbound, and go coast to coast, laying the ball up and in to make it 80 all with just seven seconds to go. Unfortunately for Citrus, Valley did the same hitting the game winner with one second to go.

In the loss, Citrus was led by Caston who scored a game high 22 points, going 4 for 6 from three and a perfect 6 for 6 at the charity stripe. Caston also grabbed four boards. LaCour would add 15, while Gray had 11 and Ziska 11.  

With the loss, Citrus drops to 15-5 overall and 0-1 in WSC East play. The Owls will try and rally on Wednesday when they have their conference home opener against Victor Valley College (4-12, 0-1). Tip-off is set for 5:00 PM.