Owls Put Up Battle in State Semifinals

Citrus College saw its season come to a heartbreaking end at the CCCAA State Semifinals, despite putting up a fight. The Owls battled but dropped a 90-84 overtime loss to the City College of San Francisco, ending the year with a 28-4 record. The Rams move to 29-3 and get the chance to defend their State Championship on Sunday against Fullerton College.

Chris Chiles (5-for-10, four steals) and Jayden Johnston (4-for-7) each scored 14 points for the Owls, while Jamal Briscoe and Uriah Foster chipped in 12 points apiece off the bench. Aibigho Ujadughele led the Owls with 12 rebounds and had four steals.

Citrus found itself trailing early in the game after San Francisco City got into the bonus just five minutes into the game. The Rams took advantage of their chances at the line, going 35-of-49 at the charity stripe in the game, including some crucial free throws late in the game.

With three-and-a-half-minutes left before halftime, Lance Rodrigues stole the ball away and found Dylon Davis on the perimeter for a three-pointer to spark a 7-0 run for the Owls. Rudy Suarez crashed the glass and put back his own rebound to tie the game 32-32 before Chiles made a tough basket to put Citrus in front during the spurt.

The Owls held a 38-35 lead at halftime and came out of the break looking to put the game away.

Unfortunately, the Rams managed to make two clutch three-pointers with less than 30 seconds on the clock to tie the game and send it into overtime. San Francisco City scored first and didn't let up in the extra period, despite Citrus putting up a battle.

Shots and calls just didn't go in favor of the Owls, however, as the Rams secured the 90-84 result to advance to the championship game.