Citrus Bounces Back with Win over Canyons

No. 3-ranked Citrus College bounced back from its first conference loss of the season and grabbed an 81-67 victory over the College of the Canyons to hold onto its top spot in the Western State Conference-South standings.

The Owls improve to 21-3 overall and 9-1 in conference action, sitting one game in front of West LA. The Cougars drop to 12-12 on the year and 3-7 in the WSC-South, despite putting up a battle.

Five Owls finished the night in double figures, led by Anthony Tello's 16 points. He also had seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals on the night. Rudy Suarez chipped in 14 points off the bench, while Chris Chiles followed with 12 points (4-for-5) and dished out three assists. Jayden Johnston posed 11 points and Aibigho Ujadughele had a solid night with 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a block.

The Owls scored 68 of their 81 points off turnovers, forcing 18 turnovers for the Cougars.

Citrus had to dig deep halfway through the second half after Canyons took off on a 14-0 run to take a one-point lead, 56-55, with just over nine minutes to play.

Chiles ended the scoring spree by banking in a pass from Uriah Foster, sparking a 14-0 run for the Owls to shift the momentum back in the home team's favor.

Ujadughele all but sealed the victory with an and-one with three minutes to go, tossing up a tough shot and drawing a foul on the play, 76-61.  

Canyons tried to foul in the waning minutes, but the Owls made their chances at the line to secure the 81-67 victory.

Citrus has just four games left in the regular season, heading to LA Valley next for a 7:30 p.m. tip off on Wednesday.