Not Dead Yet

Glendora, CA -- Don't write the obituary yet. The Citrus College Men's Basketball team, which hasn't had a typical Citrus start to its 2012-2013 season, proved that they weren't dead yet on Saturday evening when they hosted State #7 Ventura College. The Owls finally showed all the potential they possess in their biggest win of the year 83-76 over the Pirates.

Ventura started off strong against Citrus, scoring eight of the first ten points. Citrus didn't hit the panic button though getting back to back buckets from freshman Darius Middleton and sophomore Kerry Carter to cut the lead to two to get the Owls back in the game.

The Owls would tie the game up 15-15 on a dunk from sophomore Gregory Sequele with 11:32 to go, and then took their first lead of the game on a three ball from sophomore Steven Thornton Jr. on their next possession to go up 18-15. The Pirates would tie the game back up twice more at 20 and 22, but the Owls scored 14 of the final 19 points of the half to go into halftime up 36-27.

Citrus had their momentum continue early in the second half going up 15 after a trey from freshman Terrell Todd. The Owls' largest lead of the game would be 19 points, after Carter hit a three for Citrus that made it 60-41 with 12:33 to go.

Ventura didn't fold though, battling all the way back and getting to within five with 1:21 to go. The Owls settled in on defense and hit enough free-throws down the stretch to seal the deal despite the threat from the Pirates. Carter hit three of four freebies in the last 38 seconds and Thornton hit one of two as Citrus won by seven.

Four Owls reached double figures in the win, including sophomore Jordan Mackie who scored a team and season high 19 points to go along with five rebounds, six assists, and four steals. Thornton added 15, 10 of which came in the first half, while Carter finished with 16 despite not having his best shooting night of the year. Middleton rounded out the superlatives, finishing with a season high 16 points to go with a game high 8 assists against just one turnover.

With the win, Citrus improves to 7-6 on the year. The Owls, who have now won two straight, will try and keep it going on Wednesday night when they host Glendale College in their Western State Conference South Division opener. Tip-off is set for 5:00 PM.