Glendora, CA (Men’s Basketball) – The Citrus College men’s basketball team made Citrus history tonight with a 75-50 victory over Santa Monica College. With the win the Fighting Owls get their 20th win of the season, their first in over ten years, and become only the third team in Citrus men’s basketball history to do so.
The Fighting Owls started off the game a bit sloppy missing 5 of their first 6 shots. Citrus got their act together however, and began to take over the game at 14:15 mark. Phil Friesen nailed back to back free throws to give the Owls their first real lead of the game. Lester Cole, who had a game high 10 rebounds all off the bench, came in and helped spark the Citrus offense by following a Corsair turnover with a lay-up underneath the bucket.
Not only would the Owls offensive intensity lead the way for the game, but their defense proved to be rather stingy as it held Santa Monica to just 28% shooting from the field in the 1st half. On top of that, Citrus tied down Corsair leading scorer Noah Gotlieb for the 2nd game in a row, holding him to just 7 points on 2 of 9 shooting for the game.
After Cole’s lay-up the Owls took off pushing their lead even further. Citrus was bolstered by a 7-0 run from the 6 minute mark till midway through the 3 minute mark that pushed their lead to 14 points. The Corsairs would cut that lead down to 9 before the end of the 1st half, as the Owls headed to the locker-room with a 33-24 advantage.
In the 2nd half it was the Owls offense that soared as they shot 62.1% from the field and 40% from beyond the 3-point arc. The Owls would never lead by less then 7, using another 2 minute run as they Owls outscored Santa Monica 9-0 in that time pushing the Citrus lead to 20 points. The Corsairs would make mini runs, but it was never enough as Citrus eventually went on to win by 25 points, 75-50.
The Corsairs would shoot better in the 2nd half, but it wasn’t enough to keep pace with Citrus. Santa Monica shot 42.3% from the field, but continued to struggle from beyond the 3-point arc as Citrus held the Corsairs to 0 3-pointers the entire game.
In the win Citrus was led by Phil Friesen who had a game high 15 points while also chipping in with 9 boards. Aaron Arango scored 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting, while three other Owls (Shaughn Hull, Lester Cole, and Buchi Awaji) had 8 apiece.
For the game Citrus shot 50% from the field, but shot just 28.6% from beyond the 3-point arc. The Owls were animals on the boards as they out-rebounded Santa Monica 48-23. Citrus also managed to control the lane as it out-scored the Corsairs 34-14 in points in the paint.
With the win Citrus improves to 20-12 on the season and 7-5 in WSC South play. The Owls should earn a playoff berth, but won’t find out until Monday afternoon. Stay up to date on the playoff picture right here on the Citrus College website.