Citrus dream season reached its climactic conclusion Sunday as the Owls ran their record to 35-1 and claimed their first-ever state championship with a 72-67 win over Fullerton at the Spanos Center in Stockton.
For the top-seeded Owls, it has been a remarkable season. The win was their 23rd in a row, which included a perfect run through the WSC-South and their first-ever division championship. This after Citrus had posted exactly two 20-win seasons - in 1962 and 1997 - in school history before last season's 21-13 squad.
But Coach Rick Croy and his staff built the program into a powerhouse in just three years, earning the top seed in the Southern California playoff field and leading the team into the championship game against a strong Fullerton squad.
And this win was anything but easy. Citrus held a lead for all but a few moments in the game, but was never able to pull away from the stubborn Hornets and had to fight through foul trouble throughout the game. Even after the Owls put together a 17-0 run to build a 15-point lead midway through the second half, Fullerton dug in and cut the lead down to 5 points in the final minute of the game.
Early on, it looked like both teams had the jitters as neither team scored until PF Jeremy Smith knocked down a 3-pointer for the Owls 2:45 into the game. Those would be Smith's only points of the game, but they gave the Owls a lead they would hold until early in the second half.
After that, both teams settled down a bit. Citrus got a 3-pointer from SF A.J. Gasporra to make it 6-0. And after Fullerton got on the board with a basket by Ctr Mike Cox, SG Darren Moore drained a three for Citrus to make it 9-2.
Fullerton cut the deficit to 2 at 11-9, but then Citrus went on an 11-1 spurt to take a 20-10 lead after a steal & basket by Moore. And a putback basket by Ctr Ralph Monday pushed the Owl lead to 12 at 25-13 moments later. After a short jumper by SG Larry DeHughes for Fullerton, PG Virgil (J.R.) Buensuceso hit a jumper to make it 27-15.
But then Fullerton scored the next 6 points to cut the margin to 6. The lead hovered between 6 and 9 points until a 3-pointer by PF Wayne Andrews brought Fullerton within 5 points at 36-31. Then Andrews made a free throw after an intentional foul by Citrus' PF Troy Payne to make it 36-32, and SF Justin Carter hit a short jumper to make it 36-34 late in the half.
Citrus got a 3-pointer from Gasporra to push the lead back to 5 at 39-34, but moments later SF Buchi Awaji was called for a charging foul, his third foul of the game, with 51.4 seconds left in the half. Citrus had been in foul trouble as a team much of the half, allowing Fullerton to stay in the game by going 11 of 14 from the free throw line, but Awaji was the first player to get his third foul. Cox made two free throws with 21.4 seconds remaining made it 39-36 at the break.
Early in the second half, Fullerton briefly took the lead after a putback basket by Andrews and a steal & basket by Carter made it 40-39 with 18:45 left. Then Carter scored on a driving lay-up, drew the foul and made the free throw to make it 43-39. Ctr Richard Frohlich scored inside for Citrus, but then Andrews scored after a steal by DeHughes to make it 45-41.
A 3-pointer by Awaji - his first of the game - brought Citrus to within a point at 45-44. But then the foul trouble continued with Moore picking up his second of two quick fouls, which was his 4th, with 16:19 left in the game. Cox made a free throw on the play to make it 46-44. Frohlich scored for Citrus to tie the game at 46, but then PG Darrian McKinstry scored on a lay-up for Fullerton to put the Hornets ahead, 49-48.
That, however, would be Fullerton's last lead of the game as Citrus then went on a 17-0 run. A 3-pointer by Awaji put Citrus back in front, 49-48. Then the Owls went back inside to Frohlich, who drew a foul and made one of two free throws to make it 50-48. And then they went back inside to Frohlich, who again drew a foul and this time made two free throws to make it 52-48.
Plus, Citrus was finally able to stop being called for fouls, thanks partly to a switch to a zone defense. That allowed the Owl run to continue. A jumper by Gasporra made it 54-48. Then back-to-back threes by Buensuceso and Awaji made it 60-48. And another Buensuceso three made it 63-48 with 9:45 left.
A pair of free throws by DeHughes with 8:17 left finally broke the Fullerton drought, but the Hornets still trailed by 12 at 68-56 with 3:39 left before they made their final run, which was to fall just short.
A basket by Carter made it a 10-point game at 68-58. Then Andrews scored inside to make it 68-60. A pair of free throws by DeHughes made it 68-62 with 1:44 left. And then Cox went to the free throw line with 1:24 left and a chance to cut the margin to 4 points. However, he missed both free throws.
As the clock ticked down below a minute, Citrus extended its margin to 7 at 69-62 with 54.8 seconds left on a free throw by Moore. But Fullerton's DeHughes scored to make it 69-64, and the Hornets got the ball back moments later when Gasporra was called for a travel. The ball went to Andrews, who attempted a 3-pointer that would have cut the Citrus lead to two points.
On the shot, however, Moore got a piece of the ball, and the rebound went to Payne. He got the ball to Moore, who was fouled and made a free throw to make it 70-64 with 32.9 seconds left. After another Fullerton miss, Citrus got the ball to Awaji, who was fouled and made a pair of free throws with 8.6 seconds left to make it 72-64 and clinch the win. McKinstry hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds, but by then the celebration on the Citrus sideline was in full force.
Awaji led the Owls with 14 pts, 12 rebs and 4 asts, and was named tourney MVP. Buensuceso, who had 13 pts, and Moore, who had 11 pts, were named to the all-tournament team. But this was truly a team effort. Frohlich (13 pts, 6 rebs) and Gasporra (11 pts, 3 threes) had big contributions off the bench. Monday and Payne each had just 2 pts, but each pulled down 7 rebs. In all, 11 Citrus players played and nine of them scored, plus backup PG Nate Richardson, who went scoreless, dished out 4 asts to tie for team honors.
For Fullerton, Andrews led the way with a tremendous performance despite the blocked last-minute 3-point attempt. The sophomore forward had a double-double with 22 pts and 12 rebs. Carter had his usual strong game with 16 pts, 6 rebs, 3 asts and 2 steals after a shaky start. Cox, who had 8 pts and 6 rebs, joined Carter on the all-tourney team. McKinstry chipped in with 10 pts and 4 asts, while DeHughes added 8 pts and 7 rebs. But Fullerton was hurt by a lack of depth, exacerbated by the absence of backup PG Warren Fuselier, who was suspended for being ejected in the semifinal win over Bakersfield, and SF Ray Magee, who recently aggravated a foot injury. The Hornet reserves were outscored by the Citrus reserves, 29-3, a key factor in this tournament that saw both teams play 3 games in 3 days.
Still, it was an excellent season for the Hornets and coach Allen Caveness, in his first season at Fullerton after helping Compton to the state tourney last season. The appearance in the state title game was the Hornets' second - along with their win in 2006 - since 1961, the year before Citrus' only other appearance.
box score
Sunday, March 16, 2008 - 3:30 pm
at the Spanos Center, University of the Pacific, Stockton
State Championship Game
Fullerton Hornets 67:
1-Justin Carter, SF - 6/13 fg, 4/6 ft, 6 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 16 pts
3-Darrian McKinstry, PG - 4/17 fg, 0/1 ft, 5 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 10 pts
5-Larry DeHughes, SG - 2/7 fg, 4/4 ft, 7 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 8 pts
24-Wayne Andrews, PF - 7/14 fg, 6/8 ft, 12 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 5 pf, 22 pts
32-Mike Cox, C - 2/5 fg, 4/10 ft, 6 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 8 pts
4-Calise Patterson, G - 1/2 fg, 2 reb, 2 pf, 2 pts
45-Mitch Burrell, C - 1/2 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 1 pf, 1 pt
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 22/58 fg (.379), 19/31 ft (.613), 46 reb, 10 ats, 7 blk, 6 stl, 20 pf, 67 pts
3-pt fg (4): McKinstry 2, Andrews 2
Fouled Out: Andrews 8.6 seconds left
Turnovers (12): Carter 6, DeHughes 2, Andrews 2, Cox, Patterson
Citrus Owls 72:
3-Virgil (JR) Buensuceso, PG - 4/8 fg, 2/4 ft, 3 reb, 3 pf, 13 pts
14-Jeremy Smith, PF - 1/2 fg, 1 ast, 2 pf, 3 pts
15-Darren Moore, SG - 3/6 fg, 4/6 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 4 pf, 11 pts
23-Ralph Monday, C - 1/10 fg, 0/4 ft, 7 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 pf, 2 pts
25-Buchi Awaji, SF - 4/10 fg, 3/4 ft, 12 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 14 pts
5-Nate Richardson, G - 0/1 fg, 0/1 ft, 1 reb, 4 ast, 1 pf, 0 pts
20-A.J. Gasporra, F - 4/12 fg, 4 reb, 1 ast, 2 pf, 11 pts
30-Troy Payne, F - 1/3 fg, 7 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 2 pts
44-Richard Frohlich, C - 5/10 fg, 3/4 ft, 6 reb, 1 blk, 4 pf, 13 pts
12-Steven Bennet, G - 1/2 fg, 1 ast, 3 pts
10-Kelly Johnson, G - 0/2 fg, 1 ast, 0 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 24/66 fg (.364), 12/23 ft (.522), 46 reb, 18 ast, 3 blk, 5 stl, 26 pf, 72 pts
3-pt fg (12): Buensuceso 3, Awaji 3, Gasporra 3, Smith, Moore, Bennet
Intentional Foul: Payne
Turnovers (11): Awaji 2, Payne 2, Frohlich 2, Buensuceso, Smith, Moore, Gasporra, team
Halftime Score: Citrus 39, Fullerton 36
Updated Records: Citrus 35-1, Fullerton 28-6
Citrus went on a 17-0 run to take the lead in the second half after Fullerton led, 49-48
Awaji was named tourney MVP. Buensuceso, Moore, Carter & Cox were named to the all-tourney team
This is Citrus' first-ever state championship
