Glendora, CA (Men’s Basketball) -- Sophomore Justin Johnson scored a season and game high 22 points, going 9 of 12 from the field, helping lead the Fighting Owls past College of the Desert 111-97 on Friday night. As a whole Citrus shot 51.4% from the field and 50% from beyond the 3-point arc, helping key their victory over the Roadrunners.
The Fighting Owls would lead wire to wire, slowly building their lead throughout the first half. Holding a nine point lead with just over six minutes to play, Citrus embarked on a 16-5 run, sparked by a jumper in the paint and fast break dunk by sophomore Troy Payne. When the run was over Citrus had a 20-point lead, and eventually settling in for a 23 point lead at the half.
In the second half Desert came out with a vengeance, going on a 22-8 tear, drawing to within seven points of the Citrus lead after a three pointer by Danny Morgan and free-throw by Andrew Avalos made the score 64-71.
Citrus would finally stop the bleeding thanks to back to back lay-ups by Johnson and Zareh Zargaryan that pushed the Citrus lead back to double-digits. After that the Fighting Owls lead never fell below double-digits as they settled in for a 14 point victory.
Besides Johnson, the Fighting Owls got double-digit scoring nights from five other players, including Jose Rivera (15 points), Curtis Eatmon (14 points), and Kelly Johnson (12). Kelly Johnson also added a game high 7 assists, while Troy Payne ripped down a team high 10 rebounds.
In the loss, Desert was led by Patrick Rochelle, who poured in 19 points, and Yoram Webb who recorded a double-double with 13 points and a game high 12 rebounds.
With the win, Citrus improves to 6-0 while Desert falls to 4-2. The Fighting Owls will continue their current home stand on Tuesday evening when they play host to Antelope Valley College (4-2) ranked 19th in the state. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM.
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