SG Justin Johnson had 26 pts and 14 rebs as Citrus (21-4, 5-1) re-claimed sole possession of first place in the ultra-competitive WSC-South with an 80-73 win over Bakersfield (19-7, 4-2) Wednesday night in Glendora.
Citrus led virtually the whole game, opening a 17-point lead late in the first half and leading by 16 at the break. But Bakersfield chopped that lead to just 2 points four minutes into the second half and trailed by just 3 in the final minute.
The first half belonged to Citrus. After Bakersfield took early leads of 2-0 and 4-2, the Owls scored the next 6 points to go ahead, 8-4. Then Bakersfield scored to make it 8-6.
After that, Citrus pulled away, going on a 12-0 run to push the lead into double figures. A pair of outlet passes by Ctr Troy Payne led to the final two baskets on the run, scored by Johnson and PG Steven Bennett, to make it 18-6.
The Owl lead gradually increased the rest of the half, reaching 13 after a 3-pointer by SF Jose Rivera made it 30-17 and 15 after an acrobatic lay-up by SF Curtis Eatmon with 3:15 left made it 35-20. A basket by Bennett with just under 2 minutes left in the half made it 37-21. The lead reached 17 after a pair of free throws by Johnson in the final minute made it 41-24. A free throw PF Eion Lewis for Bakersfield made it 41-25.
At that point, Citrus seemed in full control. The Owls had shot 65% from the floor in the first half, while Bakersfield shot just 19% (8-for-42).
But when the second half began, Bakersfield quickly rallied, A basket and a 3-pointer by SG Skyler Vaden jump-started the Renegades, who cut the margin to 11 in the first minute of the half. After just more than four minutes, Bakersfield was within 2 points at 45-43 after 3-pointers by SG Ricky Copeland and PG Ricky Wofford. Citrus went on a 10-3 spurt to re-establish a double-digit lead at 57-46 with 11:44 left, but could never pull away. The Owl lead fluctuated between 9 and 12 points the next several minutes, and stood at 10 after a free throw by Eatmon with 5:50 left.
Then Bakersfield slowly chipped away at that lead. A putback basket by SF Jamar Harrison made it an 8-point game at 71-63 with 5:14 left. Then a 3-pointer by SF Luis Gomez made it a 6-point game at 72-66 with just under 5 minutes remaining. And a basket by Lewis brought the Renegades within 5 points at 73-68 with just under 4 minutes left.
After a free throw by Bennett made it 74-68, neither team scored for nearly two minutes until a pair of free throws by SF Darrin Dorsey of Bakersfield made it 74-70 with 1:32 left.
Then with 1:04 left came the key sequence of the game. Bakersfield's Harrison was fouled and went to the line with 1:04 left. He made the first free throw to make it 74-71. He missed the second, but Lewis got the rebound. The ball went to Harrison, who was fouled with 43 seconds left. But Harrison missed both free throws, and Rivera got the rebound for Citrus with the Owls still clinging to a 3-point lead.
With 33 seconds left, Bennett was fouled and made a pair of free throws to make it 76-71. Then Bakersfield had another chance, as Dorsey drove the lane. He missed the shot, but got his own rebound. But he missed again, and this time Eatmon got the rebound for Citrus and was fouled. He made one free throw to make it 77-71 with 18 seconds left. He missed the second, but Johnson got the rebound for Citrus and was fouled. He made one free throw with 14 seconds left to make it 78-71 and finally clinch the win for the Owls.
Justin Johnson led the way for Citrus with his game-high totals of 26 pts and 14 rebs, and was 9-of-12 from the floor on the night. Bennett had a superb game as well with 17 pts and a game-high 5 asts. Eatmon added 11 pts. Overall, Citrus shot 56% from the floor for the game, including the sizzling 65% in the first half.
For Bakersfield, Vaden led the Renegades with 14 pts while Gomez and Lewis each came off the bench to score 11. Lewis also grabbed a team-high 9 rebs. However, Vaden was the only starter to reach double figures and the Renegades shot just 28% from the floor for the night.
The win moves Citrus to 5-1 in the WSC-South, but the Owls will have to face Bakersfield again in the final game of the regular season on February 21st in Bakersfield.
box score
Wednesday, January 28, 2009 - 5 pm
at The Owls' Nest, Glendora
WSC-South
Bakersfield Renegades 73:
1-Scott Draughon, PG - 1/6 fg, 2 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 2 pts
11-Skyler Vaden, SG - 4/9 fg, 4/4 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 14 pts
22-Jamar Harrison, SF - 3/9 fg, 0/4 ft, 6 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 6 pts
42-Alex Olcott, C - 1/4 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 1 pf, 4 pts
55-Marquise Venson, PF - 0/2 fg, 3 reb, 2 pf, 0 pts
3-Ricky Wofford, G - 2/6 fg, 2 pf, 6 pts
15-Emanuel Kirby, F - 1/11 fg, 3/4 ft, 4 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl, 5 pf, 5 pts
23-Darrin Dorsey, F - 1/7 fg, 3/6 ft, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 1 pf, 5 pts
40-Luis Gomez, F - 3/15 fg, 4/4 ft, 4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 11 pts
34-Eion Lewis, F - 4/8 fg, 3/6 ft, 9 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 11 pts
44-Brad Santos, C - 0 pts
33-Ricky Copeland, G - 3/6 fg, 1 reb, 9 pts
team rebounds: 10
Totals: 23/83 fg (.277), 19/30 ft (.633), 52 reb, 15 ast, 3 blk, 10 stl, 22 pf, 73 pts
3-pt fg (8): Copeland 3, Vaden 2, Wofford 2, Gomez
Technical Foul: Lewis
Fouled Out: Kirby 33 seconds left
Turnovers (11): Vaden 3, Wofford 3, Gomez 2, Harrison, Lewis, Santos
Citrus Owls 80:
3-Jose Rivera, SF - 3/7 fg, 4 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 9 pts
5-Steven Bennett, PG - 5/7 fg, 7/11 ft, 1 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 17 pts
20-Justin Johnson, SG - 9/12 fg, 6/8 ft, 14 reb, 2 ast, 1 tsl, 3 pf, 26 pts
23-Troy Payne, C - 2/3 fg, 0/1 ft, 8 reb, 3 ast, 5 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 4 pts
32-Zareh Zargaryan, PF - 0/3 fg, 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 pf, 1 pt
10-Kelly Johnson, G - 2/2 fg, 2/3 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 6 pts
14-Curtis Eatmon, F - 3/5 fg, 4/8 ft, 3 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 4 pf, 11 pts
34-Terrance Reaves, G - 0/1 fg, 0 pts
40-Keith Thompson, F - 2/6 fg, 4 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 1 pf, 4 pts
15-Mark Dorsey, C - 1/2 fg, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 3 pf, 2 pts
30-Nathan Gibbs, C - 1 reb, 1 blk, 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 27/48 fg (.563), 20/33 ft (.606), 45 reb, 16 ast, 12 blk, 7 stl, 24 pf, 80 pts
3-pt fg (6): Rivera 3, J.Johnson 2, Eatmon
Turnovers (25): Bennett 5, K.Johnson 5, J.Johnson 4, Zargaryan 4, Payne 3, Reaves 2, Rivera, Thompson
Halftime Score: Citrus 41, Bakersfield 25
Updated Records: Citrus (#1-South, #2-Calif) 21-4 overall, 5-1 in WSC-South; Bakersfield (#5-South, #10-Calif) 19-7 overall, 4-2 in WSC-South
Citrus led by 17 in the 1st half, but Bakersfield cut that lead to 2 at 45-43 early in the second half. Citrus never relinquished the lead, but Bakersfield was still within 3 at 74-71 in the last minute.
