Stockton, CA (Men’s Basketball) – The last time the Citrus College Owls graced the floor of the State Championships it was 1962 in Newport Beach, CA. That night the Owls fell to City College of San Francisco 71-56. In 1962 the shot clock wasn’t a part of the game of basketball, Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a game, and gas was just 31 cents a gallon.
Fast forward 46 years later, and the Owls were back on the floor of the State Championships. This time however, they were not to be denied. The Fighting Owls were ready to live in the moment, and live in the moment they did, as Citrus claimed its first State Championship in program history with a 72-67 victory over Fullerton College.
Having played three games in three nights, both teams struggled to get going offensively over the first two minutes of the game. The first seven shots taken in the game all fell short, until Citrus’ Jeremy Smith got things rolling with a 3-pointer from the top of the key for the first points of the game.
From there Citrus continued to roll, getting two more treys from AJ Gasporra and Darren Moore, as the Fighting Owls jumped out to an early 9-2 lead. Over the next few minutes each team would trade baskets, with Fullerton pulling to within two points of the Citrus lead, after a textbook backdoor pass led to a dunk by the Hornets Wayne Andrews.
With that dunk, Citrus went on a run, scoring nine of the next ten points leading 20-10 after a steal and fast-break lay-up by Moore. Fullerton would answer with three straight points, but the Owls came back, getting a 3-pointer from Virgil Buensuceso that helped Citrus settle into a double digit lead around the seven minute mark.
Citrus would continue to hold on to their lead for the rest of the first half, but the Hornets would slowly chip away at the deficit. The Hornets would crawl to within two points of Citrus’ lead with 1:50 to play, but AJ Gasporra finally stopped the Citrus bleeding with a three that pushed Citrus’ lead back to five. Fullerton’s Mike Cox would close the half with two free-throws, and the Owls went into the locker room with a three point lead.
The Owls would close the first half nearly giving away a ten point lead, but they were able to stave off the charge and get into the break. They weren’t as lucky though when the second half began, as the Hornets opened up the half with a 7-0 run taking the lead for the first time in the game.
Citrus wouldn’t even score in the second half until over two minutes had gone by when sophomore Richard Frohlich hit a jumper in the paint. Fullerton answered with a jumper in the paint of their own by Wayne Andrews, pushing the lead back to four points for the Hornets.
With that the Owls finally got going again as Buchi Awaji hit a three pointer that cut the lead back to one point. Fullerton would score twice more, but the Owls were too much for them to handle as a lay-up by Frolich and another trey by Awaji gave Citrus back the lead with 15:39 to play.
Frohlich’s lay-up kick started a 17-2 run that was closed with another three from Buensuceso that made the score 63-48 with 9:50 to play. Citrus would keep the lead double-digits for the next six minutes, falling below the 10 point barrier with 2:12 to go. Fullerton would make a last minute run at the lead, but Fullerton struggled to hit shots from the field, and the Owls made enough free-throws to keep the Hornets at bay.
In the win the Owls had five players finish with double-digits scoring nights, including Buchi Awaji (14 points), who was named State Tournament MVP, and Darren Moore (11 points) and Virgil Buensuceso (13 points) who were named to the All-Tournament team. The Owls were also bolstered by a strong presence from their bench that scored 29 points, compared to Fullerton’s 3.
Citrus opened the 2007-2008 season by winning twelve of their first thirteen games. The Owls lone loss came in the thirteenth game of the season as Citrus fell 70-78 to Antelope Valley back on December 7th. After that loss the Owls never looked back and have won 23 straight games, culminating in tonight’s California State Championship.
When people look back on this season 20 years from now, it will undoubtedly be remembered as the most successful season in Citrus College history. The Owls won their first ever WSC South Championship (the first conference championship in 25 years), went a program best 35-1, and haven’t lost at home in over a year. It’s only fitting that they cap off this historic year with the ultimate prize, the CCCAA State Championship.
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