Citrus Battles But Comes Up Short at RCC

After a rough first half where Citrus College found itself trailing by almost 20 points at one point, the Owls dug deep and clawed their way back into the contest but couldn't overcome Riverside City College, dropping an 84-78 loss.

The Owls, who rank third in the South Region, slip to 3-2 on the year, while the Tigers (11^th in the South) remain undefeated.

Jayden Johnston (4-for-8 from three-point range) and Chris Chiles (5-for-10) led the Owls with 14 points, while Anthony Tello added 12 points.

Aibigho Ujadughele led Citrus' rebounding efforts with 12 boards and came up big with four steals.

Citrus struggled to find its rhythm in the first half, going into halftime trailing 38-26 after shooting 26.7-percent from the field with just two made threes.

The Owls came out fired up in the second half and opened on a 14-2 run to tie the game at 40-40.

Ujadughele put Citrus up with a big and-one, 45-43, to shift momentum and Johnston drained a trey to give the visitors a five-point lead, 48-43, but it was short-lived. 

Fouls plagued the Owls in the second half as the Tigers were sent to the charity stripe 31 times in the frame, finishing 25 of those chances to help secure the 84-78 victory.

Citrus looks to bounce back as it hosts LA Pierce on Wednesday at 3 p.m. in the Owls' Nest.