Glendora, CA (Men’s Basketball) -- Citrus College sophomore Troy Payne scored a game high 24 points and ripped down a game high 19 boards, as he led the Fighting Owls (ranked #2 in the State) to a 89-68 win over Pasadena City College (ranked #9 in the State).
Despite a slow start (just two field goals in the first four minutes) the Fighting Owls wasted little time in jumping all over Pasadena. With Citrus holding an 8-7 lead over the Lancers with 14:55 to play in the first half, the Fighting Owls took off on a 15-0 run book-ended with a lay-up by freshman Nathan Gibbs that gave Citrus a 23-7 lead.
From there Citrus would keep their lead at double-digits pushing it to as much as 24 points after a fast break lay-up by Kelly Johson and free-throw by Curtis Eatmon made the score 49-25. Pasadena would get a free-throw before the end of the half, but Citrus took a commanding 49-26 lead into half-time.
After half-time Citrus continued to hang on to their lead keeping it in the 20’s for the majority of the first 12 minutes. At the eight minute mark, the Lancers would go on an 8-0 run that cut the Citrus lead to 14 points, but the Fighting Owls responded with back to back lay-ups by Payne that pushed the Citrus lead back to 18. From there Citrus’ lead never fell below 16 points, as they settled in for a 21 point victory.
Payne was joined by sophomore Mark Dorsey who added 19 points and 9 boards, while sophomore Kelly Johnson came off the bench to dish out a team high 7 assists. For Pasadena, Joel Nolen led the way with 14 points off the bench, and fellow teammate Elliot Berry chipped in with 11 points and a team high 13 boards.
With the win Citrus improves to 5-0 on the young season, while the Lancers fall to 4-2. The Fighting Owls won’t have anytime to rest on their laurels, as Citrus plays host to College of the Desert tomorrow night. The Roadrunners are 4-1 so far this season. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM.
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