In A Groove

Glendora, CA -- After a slow start against College of the Canyons on Wednesday night, the Owls finally got themselves into a groove. The Owls turned a three point half time lead into a 12 point key WSC South victory, as they won 80-68.

The Wednesday night game featured nine ties and seven lead changes, most of which took place in the first half of action. The game would be super close for that first 20 minutes, with Citrus never leading by more than four, and Canyons by more than three.

 The ninth tie of that first half would come with 1:10 left, as a free-throw by the Cougars made it 28-28. The Owls answered back via a jumper and three pointer from sophomore John Roach that pushed Citrus back on top, and only a last second jump shot by the Cougars would keep their deficit three at the break.

In the second half, Canyons hung around for the first two or so minutes before the Owls used a small 8-0 run that featured a pair of treys by freshman Tyler LaCour that sandwiched two free-throws from sophomore Dominique Walker to give the Citrus some breathing room.

Citrus would keep their lead in the 8-11 range, until a last push by the Cougars got them back to within three with 5:48 to go. The Owls battened down the hatches on defense, got a big spark thanks to a putback dunk from sophomore Chaunce Hill, and went a perfect 10 for 10 at the charity stripe over the final three minutes to put the game away.

In the win, Citrus was paced by sophomore John Roach's team high 18 points, 13 of which came in the first half. Roach also reeled in a team high seven boards. Walker added 16, while LaCour chipped in with 14 off the bench.

With the win, Citrus improves to 12-7 overall and 5-2 in WSC South play. The Owls will be back at home again on Saturday when they host Santa Monica College (9-10, 4-3) in another big conference showdown at 3:00 PM.