Every Opportunity Given
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
LA Southwest (0-3) | 39 | 35 | 74 |
|
Citrus (4-2) | 56 | 41 | 97 |
Glendora, CA -- The Citrus College Men's Basketball team opened up their 2015-2016 home slate on Saturday afternoon when they played host to visiting Los Angeles Southwest College. The Owls took advantage of every opportunity given to them on the evening, outscoring the visiting Cougars 40-19 in points off turnovers in a 97-74 victory.
The Owls got off to a blistering pace, jump started by sophomore Ryan Wiley who had a lay-up, three, and jumper outside the paint to put Citrus up 7-2 early. The Owls would keep it going, by scoring 11 of the next 13 points, getting back to back threes from freshman Kenneth Cyprian and Wiley to go up 18-4, less than four minutes in.
Southwest wasn't going to roll over that easy though, and the Cougars battled their way back into the game, getting the Owls lead all the way down to three with 9:17 left in the first half. A triple by sophomore Mark Williams and a lay-up by sophomore Jordan McNellys pushed the Owls lead back to eight, and Southwest wouldn't get any closer.
Citrus would push their lead back to double digits, and even to 20 points after back to back three pointers from Cyprian and McNellys before the half, only a reciprocated three by the Cougars just before the buzzer, kept it from being a 20 point lead at the break, with Citrus up 56-39. In the second half, Southwest tried to slow the game down, and it worked for a time, as they crawled back to within nine points at 63-72 with 9:59 to go. The Cougars never got any closer though as sophomore Caleb Richey scored on a lay-up less than 10 seconds later, starting a small 11-2 run that put the game out of reach.
Wiley led the way with a game high 22 points, and a game high 10 rebounds for his second double-double in his last four games. Cyprian poured in 15, while McNellys had 12. Richey handed out a game high seven assists, and freshman Calvin Martin came off the bench and provided some much needed energy with 8 points and 8 boards.
With the win, Citrus improves to 4-2 on the season. The Owls will be back home on Friday when they host Victor Valley College in the opening round of the 2015 Neil Edwards Classic. Tip-off is set for 1:00 PM.
