Owls Win Double OT Thriller; Upset #6 East Los Angeles

Monterrey Park, CA -- The Citrus College Men's Basketball team went on the road to start their 2014 post-season journey and came back home with a big upset of #6 East Los Angeles College. The Owls battled all the way through double overtime before heading back to Glendora with an 86-81 win over the Huskies.

Citrus shot out of the gate and was aggressive early, scoring 10 of the first 12 points of the game, getting back to back baskets from freshman Chris Reyes to open up the game and then back to back treys from freshman Steven Polee Jr. and sophomore Daniel Cheek. The Owls would keep East Los Angeles at bay for the majority of the first half, keeping their lead around seven points. The Huskies would try to make a late move, getting the Citrus lead down to four with 1:57 to go, but Citrus closed out the half with a layup by Reyes and a jumper from Cheek to go into the half up 41-33.

In the second half, the Huskies turned up the defensive intensity and tried to cut down on their mistakes. East Los Angeles held the Owls to just 20.7% shooting from the floor, after they shot nearly 50% in the first half. Still, Citrus clung on to their lead until the waning moments of the second half. East Los Angeles would tie the game up at 64-64 with 1:16 to go. Citrus would pick up some big stops and have a few good looks at a game winner in the final minute, but each team came up empty as the game was sent to its first overtime.

In the first overtime, scoring was scarce. Cheek hit a three to start out the third period, but that was quickly followed by an East Los Angeles three and a layup 40 seconds later that gave the Huskies their first lead of the game 69-67 with 3:40 left. Reyes would pull the game to within one with 3:14 left after he hit the front end of two free-throws, but East Los Angeles did the same with 1:32 to go, to go back up by two. It would take Citrus three trips down to their end of the floor though before they could tie the game up. The tying basket would came via freshman Dominique Walker who hit a flailing floater under the basket with 14 seconds left to send the game to a second overtime tied up at 70 all.

East Los Angeles came out firing in the second overtime scoring the first four points and taking their largest lead of the day 74-70 with 4:06 to go. The Owls never seemed to panic though as they went to work on the defensive end, playing good enough defense to keep East Los Angeles within arm's reach. The Owls would take the lead back with 1:36 to go when Cheek hit a pair of free-throws to make it 77-76. The Huskies answered with a pair of their own free-throws, but on the next possession Polee hit a huge three from the top of the key to put Citrus back up 80-78 with 1:00 to go.

The Owls would get a stop on the Huskies' next possession, and East Los Angeles would resort to having to foul Citrus. Walker got sent to the line four times in the next 14 seconds, and sank all four free-throws to help seal the game. The Huskies had a chance late trailing by just three with less than 13 seconds to go, but freshman Jordan Jefferson forced a turnover and then sank two more free-throws to wrap the game up.

In the win, the Owls were led by Reyes' 26 points, 17 rebounds, and five blocks. Cheek added 17 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, while Walker came off the bench and poured in 15 points, including a 9 for 9 effort at the charity stripe.

With the win, the Owls advance to the CCCAA Southern California Regional Semi-Finals on Wednesday. Citrus will find out who they play tomorrow night, as they'll take on the winner of Ventura College at Mt. San Jacinto College. If the Pirates win, the Owls will host, but if the Eagles win, the Owls will hit the road. Game time will be at 7:00 PM.