Glendora, CA (Men’s Basketball) -- Ever since the Citrus College Men’s Basketball team won the programs first State Championship back in 2008, the Fighting Owls have had a target on their backs, and every team that Citrus has played since has come and given Citrus their best shot. The Fighting Owls got another dose of that reality on Tuesday afternoon as they opened up the Citrus College Holiday Classic with a 71-70 win over LA Pierce College.
For the most part, the Brahma’s would get the best of Citrus from the tip taking a seven point advantage after a pair of free-throws from Daniel St. Hubert gave Pierce an early 13-6 lead. After starting off the game going 2 for 11 from the field, Citrus began to get some offense going as they answered with a 10 -0 run capped off by a trey by Keith Thompson that gave the Fighting Owls a 16-13 lead.
Pierce proved to be rather pesky though as they came back with a three of their own tying the game back up. The Brahma’s would push their lead back to five points, before settling in for a four point 36-32 lead at the half. Citrus struggled from beyond the 3-point arc in the first half connecting on just one of its nine threes in the first twenty minutes of the contest.
Things continued to go the same way in the second half with Pierce keeping their lead around four points for the first five minutes. Citrus had a few runs in them, taking the lead on a three point play by Cameron Nettles with just over 14 minutes to play, but the Brahma’s always seemed to have an answer getting back to back buckets from Ever Lopez to take back the lead.
Pierce would hold onto the lead for another five minutes, until Citrus finally wrangled it from their hands. With the game all tied up at 51 and just over eight minutes to go, the Fighting Owls got a huge three from DeAndre Haskins that gave Citrus their largest lead of the contest.
After shooting just 9.1% from the three point line in the first half, Citrus caught fire hitting on all five of their attempts, including baskets by Darin Stewart and Jose Rivera that helped push Citrus’ lead to as much as six points. With things finally appearing to go their way Citrus took a 69-60 lead after a Donnel Phifer lay-up with 3:05 left in the contest, but Pierce had one more run left in them.
The Brahma’s would embark on an 8-0 run, tying the game up at 70 all after a St. Hubert connected on a pair of free-throws with 22 seconds to go. Holding the ball for a last second shot, Citrus’ Phifer drove to the lane with the clock winding down and drew a foul with just four seconds to go. Phifer calmly drilled the first, but missed the second giving them a 71-70 lead with seconds remaining. The Brahma’s last ditch three fell short, and Citrus picked up their 12th win of the season.
Sophomore Randy Hunter would lead Citrus in the win, scoring a team high 14 points and grabbing a game high nine rebounds, while Keith Thompson and Jose Rivera each chipped in with 10 points apiece. With the win, Citrus improves to 12-2 overall, while Pierce falls to 4-8.
The Fighting Owls will be back on their home floor tomorrow night, where they will take on Oxnard College in the second and final day of the Citrus College Holiday Classic. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM.
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