First Round Woes Pop Up Again for Owls

Riverside, CA -- The Citrus College Men's Basketball team's struggles in the opening round of tournaments continued on Tuesday afternoon. A week and a half after defeating San Diego City College by 18 points, the Knights returned the favor, beating the Owls 67-62 in the first round of the Riverside Holiday Tournament.

The game would be close throughout. The teams traded the lead a number of times in the first half. The Owls would take control of that lead with just over five minutes to go when a layup from freshman Jevion Roland and a three from him gave Citrus a five point cushion. The Owls would hang on to that lead all the way to the break where they held a 36-31 advantage over the Knights.

Citrus would maintain that lead for much of the second half, leading by three after a pair of free-throws from sophomore Kerry Carter made it 62-59 with just over two minutes to go. That's the last time Citrus would score though, as San Diego close the game on a 8-0 run that gave the Knights their revenge.

In the loss, Carter led the Owls with 25 points. Sophomore Steven Thornton Jr. was the only other Owl to finish in double digits as he scored 10 points. Citrus struggled from the charity stripe in the contest going 9 of 19 from the free-throw line.

With the loss, Citrus falls to 5-4 on the year. The Owls will once again be relegated to the consolation round of a tournament and will take on another team who was upset in the first round San Bernardino Valley on Thursday at noon.