Ctr Randy Hunter had 13 pts, SG Jose Rivera had 12 and PF Keith Thompson had 11 as #2 Citrus (13-2) used its depth to wear down Oxnard (7-7) for a 66-52 victory in the 2009 Citrus College Holiday Classic Wednesday night in Glendora.
Citrus began the game with a 12-0 run and it looked like the host Owls would win in a rout as Oxnard turned the ball over on five of its first six possessions of the game. But the Condors fought back from that opening siege, ralling to tie the game 15-15 near the midway point of the first half and taking a 17-15 lead on a driving lay-up by PG Ryan McLucas.
But then Citrus went on another run. The game was tied, 19-19, when the Owls went on a 10-1 run to take a 9-point lead at 29-20 after a 3-pointer by Rivera. The margin reached double digits after a pair of free throws by Hunter with 1:32 left in the half made it 35-24, and reached 13 points after a 3-pointer by Thompson made it 38-25 in the final minute of the half.
Oxnard got a fallaway jumper from PF James Ennis late in the half to make it 38-27 at the break. When the second half started, Oxnard got a basket and a pair of free throws from Ennis to cut the margin to 7 points at 38-31 with 18:31 left in the game.
Then Citrus began to pull away again, pushing the margin back to double figures on a 3-point play by Thompson that made it 41-31. Then back-to-back 3-pointers by Rivera made it 47-33.
And things got worse quickly for Oxnard when Ennis picked up two quick fouls, his fourth and fifth of the game, and fouled out with 12:17 left.
And the Citrus lead continued to grow. A 3-pointer by SG Jerry Santos made it 54-37, and a basket by Hunter pushed the lead to 18 at 57-39 with 9:28 left.
About that time, McLucas, who had played the whole game to that point, left with what appeared to be leg cramps, making an Oxnard rally all but impossible. A basket by PF DeAndre Haskins on a fast break with 6:51 left made it a 20-point game at 63-43, basically clinching the win for Citrus.
McLucas left with a game-high 14 pts, plus a team-high 4 asts for the Condors. Ennis had 12 pts before fouling out. No other Condor scored more than 7 points.
box score
2009 Citrus College Holiday Classic
at The Owls' Nest, Citrus College, Glendora
Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - 7 pm
Citrus Owls 66:
15-Jose Rivera, SG - 4/9 fg, 5 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 12 pts
20-Randy Hunter, C - 4/7 fg, 5/6 ft, 4 reb, 2 stl, 3 pf, 13 pts
23-Derrick Rodgers, PG - 1/4 fg, 1 reb, 3 ast, 2 pts
32-Darin Stewart, SF - 0/6 fg, 4 reb, 2 stl, 5 pf, 0 pts
45-Keith Thompson, PF - 4/10 fg, 2/4 ft, 4 reb, 1 stl, 11 pts
3-DeAndre Haskins, F - 2/5 fg, 1/2 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 1 pf, 5 pts
5-Jerry Santos, G - 3/13 fg, 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 9 pts
12-Hakeem Washington, G - 0/3 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 1 pt
14-Cameron Nettles, F - 3/5 fg, 1/3 ft, 4 reb, 2 stl, 2 pf, 7 pts
50-Tom Granado, C - 3/3 fg, 0/2 ft, 3 reb, 2 pf, 6 pts
10-Donnel Phifer, G - 0/1 fg, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 0 pts
40-Cameron Khoury, F - 0/4 ft, 2 reb, 0 pts
team rebounds: 10
Totals: 24/66 fg (.364), 10/23 ft (.435), 45 reb, 16 ast, 1 blk, 11 stl, 22 pf, 66 pts
3-pt fg (8): Rivera 4, Santos 3, Thompson
Fouled Out: Stewart 4:52 left
Turnovers (19): Rivera 3, Rodgers 2, Stewart 2, Thompson 2, Haskins 2, Santos 2, Nettles 2, Hunter, Washington, Phifer, Khoury
Oxnard Condors 52:
11-Ryan McLucas, PG - 6/12 fg, 1/2 ft, 4 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 14 pts
12-Gerald Pitts, SG - 2/7 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 stl, 3 pf, 5 pts
15-Philip Holmes, SF - 1/6 fg, 3/6 ft, 9 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 5 pts
32-Devonta McCulley, C - 2 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 2 pf, 0 pts
34-James Ennis, PF - 4/9 fg, 4/5 ft, 3 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 5 pf, 12 pts
22-Craig Lee, F - 3/9 fg, 1/2 ft, 7 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 7 pts
33-Rashad Stuckey, C - 2/3 fg, 3/3 ft, 3 reb, 3 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 6 pts
24-Bryce Showalter, G - 0/2 fg, 1/2 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 pt
3-Jason Townsley, G - 1/1 fg, 2 pts
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 19/49 fg (.388), 13/22 ft (.591), 38 reb, 14 ast, 5 blk, 4 stl, 19 pf, 52 pts
3-pt fg (1): McLucas
Fouled Out: Ennis 12:17 left
Turnovers (26): McLucas 7, Ennis 7, Holmes 5, Stuckey 2, Townsley 2, McCulley, Lee, Showalter
Halftime Score: Citrus 38, Oxnard 27
Updated Records: Citrus (#2-South, #3-Calif) 13-2, Oxnard 7-7
