The Citrus Owls completed their regular season with a dramatic win before their largest home crowd in memory, rallying from a first-half deficit to build a 14-point lead but then holding on for a 90-87 win over WSC-South rival Bakersfield to improve their record to 30-1.
The last time these teams met, Citrus SF Buchi Awaji hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation to send the game to overtime, which Citrus eventually won, 115-100. This time, Bakersfield PF Darrin Dorsey came tantalizingly close to duplicating that feet; his 30-foot would-be tying 3-pointer at the buzzer looked dead on but bounced off the heel of the rim, allowing the Owls (30-1, 12-0) to escape with the win.
For much of the night, it looked like the visiting Renegades (19-14, 7-5) would play the spoiler, disappointing the large crowd. Behind the strong early play of Ctr Bobby Fisher, Bakersfield took a 12-6 lead (with Fisher scoring 10 points) in the first five minutes, then extended that margin to as much as 10 points at 18-8 just less than 7 minutes into the game.
That was as large as the Bakersfield lead would get, but Citrus was unable to pull even the rest of the half. An alley-oop dunk by Awaji on a lob from SF A.J. Gasporra brought the Owls to within two points at 34-32, but Bakersfield maintained that lead and held a 5-point advantage at 43-38 at the half.
When the second half began, Citrus scored the first five points of the half to tie the game at 43. But still, Bakersfield refused to allow the Owls to take the lead until PG Steven Bennet grabbed a steal, scored on a lay-up, drew a foul and made the free throw to complete the 3-point play with 14:23 left, making it 56-54.
Then Citrus extended its lead, pushing the margin to double digits at 70-59 on a pair of fre throws by SG Darren Moore midway through the half. The Owl lead reached as high as 14 points at 75-61 after a 3-pointer by Awaji with just under 9 minutes remaining.
But Bakersfield never gave up, gradually cutting into the lead as the time wound down. A pair of free throws by SF Jamar Harrison with 3:32 left made it an 8-point game at 82-74, and then Harrison scored on a baseline drive to make it 82-76. After a free throw by Citrus PG J.R. Buensuceso, Dorsey scored on a putback to make it 83-78. And then Harrison scored on a driving lay-up to make it 83-80 with 1:40 left.
With the help of some missed free throws by Citrus, Bakersfield stayed close but was unable to get any closer as the clock passed the one-minute mark. Harrison misssed a would-be game-tying 3-pointer with 56 seconds left. Citrus got the rebound and got the ball to Moore, who made a pair of free throws with 46 seconds left to make it 85-80.
Still, Bakersfield continued to rally. A 3-pointer by PG Gary Felices with 36 seconds left made it 85-83. Then the Renegades sent Citrus PF Jeremy Smith to the line, and he made 1 of 2 free throws to make it 86-83 with 25 seconds left. Then Felices scored for Bakersfield to make it a one-point game at 86-85 with 17 seconds remaining.
On the inbounds, Bakersfield fouled Moore, sending him to the line with 15 seconds left. The UC Irvine-bound guard calmly made both free throws to make it 88-85. But Bakersfield got a basket from Fisher to make it 88-87 with 4 seconds left, again making it a one-point game.
Again, Bakersfield had no choice but to foul, sending Moore to the line again. And again, Moore came through with two free throws, making it 90-87 with 2 seconds left. But on the inbounds pass, Bakersfield got the ball to Dorsey near midcourt. After a couple of dribbles, Dorsey unleashed a 30-foot would-be game-tying 3-pointer that looked good until it bounced off the heel of the rim and out as the horn sounded.
For Citrus, Buensuceso led the way with 18 pts while Awaji and Moore each had 16. Gasporra and Bennet each added 9 pts and PF Troy Payne had 8.
For Bakersfield, Harrison had a game-high 21 pts and Fisher finished with 20 plus 7 rebs. Williams came off the bench to add 15 pts and a game-high 9 rebs. Dorsey chipped in with 10. Felices had a solid game with 5 pts, all in the final 36 seconds, and a game-high 7 asts.
With the win, Citrus finishes the conference season 12-0 in WSC-South play, and wins its first-ever WSC-South division title. And the Owls finish the regular season 30-1 overall, easily the best record in school history. The Owls are expected to receive one of the top seeds in the playoff pairings, which will be announced Monday.
Bakersfield falls to 19-14 overall and 7-5 in the WSC-South. Still, the Renegades should easily make the playoffs and may end up hosting a mini-round game Wednesday.
box score
Saturday, February 23, 2008 - 7:30 pm
at the Owls' Nest, Citrus College - Glendora
WSC-South
Bakersfield Renegades 87:
1-Justin Calhoun, SG - 1/3 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 pf, 4 pts
11-Reggie Lassiter, PG - 0/3 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 5 pf, 2 pts
22-Jamar Harrison, SF - 8/10 fg, 4/4 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl, 2 pf, 21 pts
40-Darrin Dorsey, PF - 3/6 fg, 4/5 ft, 4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 10 pts
55-Bobby Fisher, C - 10/12 fg, 7 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk, 4 pf, 20 pts
33-Daniel Williams, F - 4/8 fg, 6/7 ft, 9 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 15 pts
23-Jimmy Scroggins, F - 2/3 fg, 1 reb, 1 pf, 4 pts
30-Gary Felices, G - 2/4 fg, 2 reb, 7 ast, 2 pf, 5 pts
21-Andrew Rhoades, F - 1/1 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 3 pts
42-Alex Olcott, C - 1 pf, 0 pts
3-Kyle Watkins, G - 1/3 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 3 pts
34-Jeff Grace, C - 2 pf, 0 pts
50-Daniel Thomas, G - 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 32/53 fg (.604), 18/20 ft (.900), 33 reb, 23 ast, 5 blk, 5 stl, 29 pf, 87 pts
3-pt fg (5): Harrison, Williams, Felices, Rhoades, Watkins
Fouled Out: Lassiter 46 secs left
Turnovers (28): Dorsey 6, Fisher 6, Lassiter 5, Calhoun 3, Williams 2, Felices 2, Harrison, Scroggins, Rhoades, Watkins
Citrus Owls 90:
3-Virgil (JR) Buensuceso, PG - 6/11 fg, 5/10 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 4 pf, 18 pts
14-Jeremy Smith, PF - 0/3 fg, 3/4 ft, 2 reb, 1 stl, 3 pts
15-Darren Moore, SG - 2/6 fg, 12/13 ft, 5 reb, 3 ast, 3 pf, 16 pts
23-Ralph Monday, C - 2/7 fg, 2 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 4 pts
25-Buchi Awaji, SF - 7/14 fg, 0/1 ft, 4 reb, 1 ast, 3 pf, 16 pts
5-Nate Richardson, G - 0/1 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 pf, 1 pt
44-Richard Frohlich, C - 2/2 fg, 1 reb, 4 pts
20-A.J. Gasporra, F - 2/5 fg, 4/4 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 9 pts
30-Troy Payne, F - 2/2 fg, 4/6 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 8 pts
12-Steven Bennet, G - 3/5 fg, 2/6 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 9 pts
10-Kelly Johnson, G - 1/3 fg, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 pf, 2 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 27/59 fg (.458), 31/46 ft (.674), 30 reb, 14 ast, 2 blk, 11 stl, 21 pf, 90 pts
3-pt fg (5): Awaji 2, Buensuceso, Gasporra, Bennet
Turnovers (17): Moore 4, Payne 3, Buensuceso 2, Awaji 2, Johnson 2, Monday, Frohlich, Gasporra, Bennet
Halftime Score: Bakersfield 43, Citrus 38
Updated Records: Citrus (#2-South, #4-Calif) 30-1 overall, 12-0 in WSC-South; Bakersfield (#13-South) 19-14 overall, 7-5 in WSC-South
Bakersfield led 18-8 early on and held the lead until a 3-pt play by Bennet put Citrus ahead, 56-54, with 14:23 left in the second half. The Owls increased their lead to as much as 14 at 75-61 before Bakersfield rallied, cutting the margin to a single point with 17 seconds left. Dorsey's would-be game-tying 3-pointer bounced off the heel of the rim as the final buzzer sounded.
