Results tagged “Citrus” from Community College Sports
By Michelle Gardner
Staff Writer
The Citrus College men’s basketball team is off to the best start in school history while San Bernardino Valley College is off to one of the worst. Both will be in the 16-team field of the Wells Fargo Holiday Classic which starts today and runs through Saturday at Riverside Community College.
San Bernardino Valley College (1-6), the defending Foothill Conference champion, will take the floor at 5 p.m. today against East Los Angeles (4-5). A win would put the Wolverines into the quarterfinals on Thursday, most likely against the host school.
Citrus (10-0), ranked fourth in Southern California and seventh in the state, faces a formidable challenge at 3 p.m. Wednesday against College of the Desert (6-1).
The event is a grind with teams playing as many as four straight days. But Owls coach Rick Croy thinks his team is ready.
“This team really is built for tournament play,” he said. “I have 13 players I use and I trust all 13 of them. We plan for fatigue before it even hits us.”
Sophomore guard Buchi Awaji (18.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg) heads the effort with freshman guard A.J. Gasporra (13.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.2 apg) and sophomore guard Darren Moore (13 ppg), planning to play next season at UC Irvine.
The Owls have two other players at nine points a game including sophomore forward Richard Frohlich (9 ppg, 5.2 rpg) who has already signed with Texas-San Antonio.
While the Owls have been impressive, Croy and his team know tougher tasks are ahead.
“We know there is another level of competition we haven’t faced yet but I am happy with where we’re at,” Croy said. “Our motto is stay humble and stay hungry. So far we have been able to do that.”
Meanwhile the Wolverines are looking to find their groove. But coach Gerry Wright isn’t panicking. Four of the six losses have been by single digit margins (two in overtime) and the schedule has been tough. Making it tougher, all the games have been on the road with the first game at Snyder Gymnasium not coming until Jan. 3.
The Wolverines are missing some players Wright was relying on, with one going down with a season-ending knee injury and another leaving the team so he could work.
“We scrimmaged a week before the season and the next week we didn’t have those guys,” Wright said. “We just have to take control and go a different direction because we don’t have the aces we thought we would have.”
The team is led by returning starters Johnny Barnes (22.8 ppg) and Lewis Leonard (27.8 ppg). Leonard had 28 points in the most recent loss, an 88-80 setback to Los Angeles City. Wright added that he is looking for more production from the newcomers, especially at the off guard position.
“Right now we’re getting points out of four or five guys. That’s something we have to address,” he said.
Citrus is one five teams that come in with state rankings. The others are No. 2 Fullerton (8-0), No. 6 Mt. San Jacinto (9-0), No. 12 Riverside (7-2) and No. 17 Antelope Valley (7-3). In addition Long Beach City (5-4) is ranked No. 13 in the South.
The Owls finished as runner-up in the event last year, losing the championship game to Riverside.
Here is today's schedule:
Palomar (3-5) vs. Mt. Sam Jacinto (9-0), 1 p.m.
Pasadena (0-6) vs. Fullerton (8-0), 3 p.m.
East Los Angeles vs. San Bernardino Valley, 5 p.m.
Riverside All-Stars vs. Riverside CC, 7 p.m.
Wednesday's games
Long Beach City (5-4) vs. Saddleback (4-5), 1 p.m.
Desert (6-1) vs. Citrus (10-0), 3 p.m.
Los Angeles Pierce (0-5) vs. San Diego City (2-6), 5 p.m.
Compton (2-9) vs. Antelope Valley (7-3), 7 p.m.
