Canyons Suffers 80-68 Road Loss at Citrus

GLENDORA, Calif. — The College of the Canyons men's basketball team could not overcome second half foul trouble in a 80-68 road loss to Western State Conference (WSC) rival, Citrus College on Wednesday night.

Thus far, the Cougars have alternated wins and losses in the early part of WSC play.

The first half vs. Citrus saw seven lead changes with the Cougars and Owls trading baskets throughout.

COC sophomore guard Coley Apsay led the way in the first half scoring 10 points, including two three pointers, to give the Cougars a slight lead. Apsay would close out the half scoring a jumper just before the halftime buzzer.

The Cougars entered halftime down just 33-30, but couldn't cut into the Owls' lead in the second half, as Citrus went on a 12-5 run to open up a 10-point advantage with seven minutes in the second half.

A basket by COC sophomore forward Brenden Otero basket cut the deficit to three points at 60-57 with 5:48 left in the game. After a Citrus timeout, however, the Owls' lead swelled to 15 points with just over a minute left in the game, leaving the Cougars without a chance to catch up.

COC guard Coley Apsay would finish with 19 points, four assists and two steals, while freshman guard Chance Cole led the reserves with 12 points and four rebounds in just 21 minutes of action.

Victor Nwaba and Tullio Parry also added 10 points each for the Cougars.

COC was outshot at the free throw line in the second half 18-7 with Citrus connecting on 15-of-18 free throw attempts. The Cougars only went to the line seven times in the second half, connecting on five attempts.

Canyons is now 11-9 on the season and is headed into another road conference matchup with Antelope Valley College at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 31.