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Sophomore Jordan McNellys had a game high 19 points in Citrus' loss to Saddleback.
Sophomore Jordan McNellys had a game high 19 points in Citrus' loss to Saddleback.

Riverside, CA -- The Citrus College Men's Basketball team knew they'd have a tall task ahead of them on Wednesday afternoon when they had to take on State #1 Saddleback College in the second round of the Riverside Holiday Tournament. The Owls kept it close for the first 10 minutes until the Gauchos ground them down in a 84-63 loss.

The game got off to a good start with Citrus answering all of the early buckets by Saddleback. Citrus would even lead for a little while early on, gaining their first lead on a free-throw by freshman Teeqwaun James that made it 5-4 and holding it 12-8 lead with 14:43 left after a jumper by sophomore Caleb Richey.

Citrus' last lead of the game would come at the 11:58 mark when a triple by freshman Calvin Martin made it 17-16 in favor of the Owls. That would be the last time it was really close as Saddleback embarked on a 11-0 run that gave the Gauchos their first double-digit lead, something they wouldn't surrender but for 12 seconds the rest of the game.

By the time halftime rolled around, Citrus was in a 50-31 hole. The Owls would go nearly toe to toe with Saddleback in the second half, getting outscored by just two points 34-32. Citrus never really made their way back into the game. The closest the Owls would get would be 13 points after a three from sophomore Jordan McNellys with 15:41 to go made it 43-56. Saddleback responded with a fast break lay-up and a dunk to go back up 16 and never really look back.

In the loss, McNellys led all scorers with 19 points. Sophomore Ryan Wiley added 10, as did James.

With the loss, Citrus drops to 6-5 on the year. The Owls will try and stave off elimination in the tournament tomorrow afternoon yet again at 1:00 PM when they take on the loser between Fullerton College and San Bernardino Valley College.