Men’s Basketball Rolls in Home Opener

Glendora, CA - The Citrus College Men's Basketball team was clicking on all cylinders on Saturday afternoon when they opened up their 2016-2017 home slate against College of the Desert. Citrus shot 54.7% from the floor and 40.5% from downtown, while holding the Roadrunners to 32.4% shooting from the field and just a 2 of 24 clip from beyond the 3-point line in a 106-54 victory.

The Owls got out of the blocks fast, scoring 11 of the first 13 points in the game. The Runners first basket of the game would be the closest they would get when their jumper with 18:16 left in the first made it 2-5. Desert would get their early deficit down to 10 three times early in the first half including 10-20 with 11:33 to play. That sparked a 22-2 run by Citrus jumpstarted by a conventional three-point play by freshman Jeremy Smith and ended with a layup by sophomore Calvin Martin that made it 44-12. 

In the second half Desert found a more consistent stroke managing 33 points, compared to the 21 they offered in the first half. Unfortunately for them, the Owls were also even better, scoring 58 points in the final 20 minutes as they ran away with the 51 point victory. Seven Owls finished with double-digit scoring nights led by freshman Drew Ammann who scored 20 on 7 of 12 shooting from the floor and a 3 for 3 effort at the charity stripe. Sophomore Kenneth Cyprian had 17, going 5 for 11 from downtown. Freshman Quintin Bailey came off the bench and reeled in a game high 11 boards. 

With the win, Citrus improves to 7-1 on the year. The Owls will take a break from action until after the Thanksgiving Holiday, returning CCCAA play on Friday December 2nd, when they take on Fresno City College in the opening game of the Mountie Classic hosted by Mt. San Antonio College.