The Turnover Margin

Glendora, CA - The Citrus College Men's Basketball team, ranked #13 in the State, forced visiting Glendale College into 20 turnovers on Saturday afternoon. The Owls meanwhile committed just six total over 40 minutes of action, and outscored the Vaqueros 21-8 in the points scored off of turnovers, giving the Owls a huge advantage in the turnover margin in their 79-68 win. 

 Glendale would snag the early lead, scoring six of the first eight points of the contest, while Citrus missed eight of their first nine attempts from the floor. The Owls would quickly right the ship and take the lead on a mini 9-0 spurt that turned a 2-6 deficit into a 11-6 lead after a jumper by freshman Quintin Bailey. The Vaqueros would keep the game around a one possession game until the Owls closed the last seven minutes of the first half by outscoring Glendale, 21-12 to head into the break up 51-37.

Citrus would once again come out of the gate a little slow, but the Owls managed to push their lead to 19 after a layup by freshman Alexios Zika with 15:12 left in the game. The Vaqueros never let Citrus get comfortable, as they continuously chipped away at the Owls' lead, dropping it all the way down to two points after that game high 19.

Leading 70-68 with 2:49 to go in the game, Citrus turned on the after burners and pulled away. Sophomore Kenneth Cyprian would draw a foul and hit a pair of free-throws, and after a steal by sophomore Tyler Lacour, freshman Khalil Williams hit the biggest shot of the night when he drilled a corner three off a pass by freshman Jeremy Smith to make it 75-68.

That triple snapped a nearly five minute field-goal-less stretch for Citrus, whose last shot from the floor was another three by Williams. The three would be the knockout blow Citrus needed as Williams also came up with a huge block on Glendale's next possession, and the Owls iced things with a Smith layup with 1:04 to go.

In the win, Cyprian would lead the way with a team high 16 points. Smith added 10, while Ziska had 11 and Williams 13. Williams also finished with five boards which tied him with sophomore Calvin Martin and freshman Kyle Gray for the team lead in rebounds, while sophomore Donn-Christian Corbin had a game high seven assists.

With the win, Citrus improves to 22-5 overall and 7-1 in WSC East play. The Owls have two games left in their regular season schedule, beginning with their regular season home finale on Wednesday against visiting Antelope Valley College. Tip-off is set for 5:00 PM. ​