Owls Stay Perfect Through Round One of WSC East Play

Men's basketball sealed up the first round of WSC East conference play on Saturday. The Owls handily beat the visiting Victor Valley Rams 88-61. Citrus stays undefeated in conference with a 5-0 mark. 

The Owls didn't waste any time lighting the fire, as they came out of the gate and established a lead that Victor Valley would not be able to close out. Citrus found its rhythm from the 3 point line quickly and maintained consistency throughout both halves of play. The Owls hit 43% of their long range jumpers, thanks in part to Sam Gagliardi and Psalm Maduakor who had 7 and 4 threes, respectively. Citrus also played better team offense, more than doubling the total assists by the Rams 18-7. The Owls also played better team defense, stealing the ball 10 times and blocking a season high 11 shots. Perhaps most impressive was the bench contributions for the Owls. The Citrus reserves outscored their counterparts 41-18 on the night, a testament to the depth of ability on the bench that Head Coach Brett Lauer and his coaching staff have assembled and trained. 

Individually, Gagliardi led the way with 25 points, 7 threes and 9 rebounds; Psalm Maduakor dropped 14 points in the effort, snatching 6 rebounds and going 4 for 5 from long range; Jesse Elrod score 13 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and terrorized the Ram offense with 4 blocked shots; Colby Orr put down 11 points along with 6 assists and 9 boards; and Treyvon Watts-Hale posted another complete stat line with 4 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocked shots.

The Owls improve to 16-6 on the season, maintaining their unbeaten conference record at 5-0 and sitting alone on top of the WSC East conference. 

Citrus takes the floor again when they open round two of conference play next Saturday the 9th at 3:00 PM vs LA Valley. 

For the latest scores, highlights, photos and more, visit www.citrusowls.com  and follow us on Twitter: @ccfightingowls