A Class on the Glass

Glendora, CA -- With elimination from their home hosted tournament on the line, the Citrus College Men's Basketball team drew a tough match-up in State #19 El Camino College-Compton Center. The Owls were nearly outdone in every statistical category except rebounds, where Citrus out-rebounded the Tartars by 14. The class on the glass by the Owls was the difference maker in an 88-83 overtime victory.

The game was close throughout, as it featured a total of seven ties and six lead changes. The largest lead by either team in the first half was a seven point margin in favor of Compton 21-14 with 11:28 to go. The Owls would come back and tie it up twice, before finally regaining the lead 35-34 with 3:05 left in the first half via a lay-in from sophomore Mark Williams. The Tartars would briefly regain the lead two possessions later, but a triple by freshman Kenneth Cyprian and a pair of free-throws in the closing seconds of the first half by sophomore Ryan Wiley put Citrus up 40-37 at the break.

In the second half, Citrus came out running, going on a 14-2 run, started by a lay-up from Williams and ended with a tip-in by Williams that made it 54-39 with 15:30 to go. The Owls were unable to maintain that lead though, and Compton fought all the way back pulling to within one with 1:43 to go at 66-67. The Owls would get another score by Williams to go back up by three.

Compton would come back down and tie the game up with the first of two free-throws an offense rebound and a jumper, but the Owls got two free-throws of their own from freshman Donn-Christian Corbin and one from sophomore Caleb Richey to go up 72-69 with 12 seconds left. Compton would inbound the ball and dribble to the right wing where they threw up a deep three that of course hit nothing but net, sending the game into overtime.

In overtime, Williams scored the first points by getting to the rack yet again. Compton would hit a three two possessions later to briefly go back on top 75-74. The Owls got a big shot on their next possession when sophomore Jordan McNellys took a pass from Richey and answered the Tartar triple with one of his own to put Citrus back up by two. Compton would tie the game back up on their next trip down the floor, but another McNellys answer, this time on a lay-in up and off the glass, put Citrus up for good. Down the stretch, the Owls went five of six from the line, and never let Compton get closer then one.

In the win, Citrus was led by McNellys team high 18 points. Richey, Williams, and Cyprian all added 15, with Cyprian and Williams adding 10 and 13 boards respectively. Wiley rounded out the double-digit scoring days with 11 and 12 rebounds.

With the win, Citrus improves to 5-3 on the season. The Owls will return home tomorrow to take on San Diego City College in the Consolation Championship Game of the 2015 Neil Edwards Classic. It'll be the third meeting between the two schools in Citrus' first nine games, and the rubber match with each team owning a win over the other.