Santa Monica, CA (Men’s Basketball) – Citrus College men’s basketball team vaulted themselves to their 3rd straight WSC victory on the backs of a very strong defensive effort that allowed them to jump to a large lead and never look back against Santa Monica on Wednesday night.
The Corsairs would strike first with a bucket in the opening minutes of play, but after Richard Frohlich got things started with Citrus’ first points, the Owls quickly took the lead as Kevin McCaughey turned a steal into 2-points after his ensuing lay-up. From their on out the Fighting Owls would never trail for the remaining 36 minutes and 30 seconds of play.
In the 1st half alone the Fighting Owls forced 13 turnovers and only gave up 5 of their own. The Owls turned those 13 turnovers into 18 points while forcing Santa Monica into just 35.7% shooting from the floor. The Owls themselves were patient and took smart shots, shooting a blazing 50% from the floor and 44% from beyond 3-point arc on their way to 36-14 half time lead.
In the 2nd half Citrus would push their lead to 28 points, while never allowing the Corsairs to get closer than 21 points until the finals seconds of the game. The Corsairs were able to shoot better in the 2nd half (48%), but it was too little to late as the Owls kept pace and cruised to a 73-54 win.
The Owls bench continued to prove its depth as it outscored Santa Monica’s bench 46-10 in the win. Buchi Awaji led all scorers with 20 points, while Deonta Black chipped in with 13. Phil Friesen registered a double-double with 12 points and a game high 11 boards. As a team the Fighting Owls shot 46.9% from the floor for the game and an even better 50% from beyond the 3-point arc.
With the win Citrus improves to 16-10 and 3-3 in WSC South play. The 2nd round of conference play begins on Saturday as the Fighting Owls find themselves on the road to face yet another top 5 Southern California team in Bakersfield. Tip-off is at 5:30 pm. Earlier in the year the Owls suffered a 6 point loss at home to the Renegades.