Eleven different players scored for Citrus as the #2-ranked Owls (21-2, 7-0) took a stranglehold on the WSC-South race with a hard-fought 84-80 win over #9 Bakersfield (18-5, 4-3) Saturday night in Glendora.
Bakersfield erased a 10-point Citrus lead midway through the second half, and trailed by just a point in the final minute, but the Owls came up with three defensive stops and made three free throws in the final 30 seconds to hold on for the win.
It was truly a team effort for the Owls, who now hold a 3-game lead in the rugged WSC-South after this win and LA Valley's loss tonight against Glendale. Eleven different players - all the Owls who played - made at least one basket and they all each had at least one rebound.
Early on, however, it was Bakersfield who started well, jumping out to an 8-1 lead in the first 3:56 of the game. That, however, would be the Renegades' largest lead of the game, though they never let Citrus pull away, and had several chances to tie or take the lead late.
Citrus overcame the ragged start and went on a 7-0 run to tie the game 8-8. Bakersfield answered with a 7-0 run of its own to take a 15-8 lead, and led by 7 at 19-12. Citrus rallied again, however, tying the game at 28 with 4:53 left in the first half.
The lead went back and forth for the next ten minutes of playing time, with Citrus holding a 40-37 lead at the half. Then PG Derrick Rodgers scored a pair of baskets in the first minute of the second half to give Citrus its largest lead of the game to that point at 44-37. But Bakersfield rallied, taking a 49-48 lead on a 3-pointer by SG Bart Dandridge with 14:21 left in the game.
Citrus re-took the lead moments later on a 3-pointer by SF DeAndre Haskins, and then the Owls threatened to pull away. A pair of free throws by Rodgers and a third-chance putback by Ctr Tom Granado made it 55-50. The lead again reached seven at 59-52 on a 3-pointer by SF Darin Stewart. And a 3-pointer by SG Jose Rivera, his 5th of the game, gave Citrus its largest lead of the night at 69-59 with just under 8 minutes left.
Then Bakersfield rallied, however, tying the score at 77 with 2:57 left after two baskets by SG E.J. Kirby in 14 seconds. Citrus went back in front on a pair of free throws by Haskins with 2:47 left, and had an 81-77 lead after two free throws by PG Hakeem Washington with 2:10 remaining. But Bakersfield got a free throw from Ctr Bobby Fisher with 1:21 left and a putback basket by Kirby with 45 seconds left to get within a point at 81-80. And the Renegades got the ball back when Citrus turned the ball over on a missed pass with 34 seconds left.
But Bakersfield never quite pulled even. PF Chase Adams missed a shot and PF Cameron Nettles grabbed the rebound for Citrus; he was fouled with 25 seconds left and made two free throws to make it 83-80. Then Fisher drove the lane for Bakersfield, then passed to Kirby on the perimeter. But after the pass he collided with Nettles, who stood in and took the charge. That was Fisher's 5th foul, sending him to the bench with 20 seconds left.
Bakersfield had no choice but to foul, sending Rivera to the free throw line with 15 seconds left. He made one of two free throws to make it a 2-possession game at 84-80. Kirby missed a 3-pointer for Bakersfield with 8 seconds left. The Renegades got the ball back one last time, but PF Donnel Phifer intercepted a pass for a steal in the final seconds and dribbled the clock out.
Rivera led Citrus with 16 pts on 5 threes and the game-clinching free throw, and also had 3 asts. Washington came off the bench and had an outstanding game with 13 pts, 5 asts and no turnovers. Ctr Randy Hunter had 9 pts and 10 rebs, and Nettles had 8 pts and 10 rebs. Rodgers had 8 pts and Phifer had 7.
For Bakersfield, Kirby had a game-high 26 pts, including 18 in the second half, and a team-high 8 rebs. Fisher had 15 pts, 5 rebs and 3 blocks, and SF Skyler Vaden had 13 pts, 7 rebs and 4 asts. But the Bakersfield bench combined for just 10 points, a stark contrast to Citrus' bench total of 37.
box score
Saturday, January 30, 2010 - 7 pm
at The Owls' Nest, Glendora
WSC-South
Bakersfield Renegades 80:
3-Ricky Wofford, PG - 2/2 fg, 4/6 ft, 2 ast, 4 pf, 9 pts
11-Skyler Vaden, SF - 3/8 fg, 7/9 ft, 7 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 1 pf, 13 pts
15-E.J. Kirby, SG - 11/21 fg, 4/7 ft, 8 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 4 pf, 26 pts
44-Chase Adams, PF - 1/4 fg, 4/4 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 5 pf, 7 pts
55-Bobby Fisher, C - 5/11 fg, 5/7 ft, 5 reb, 1 st, 3 blk, 5 pf, 15 pts
22-Stevie Howard, G - 2/3 fg, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 5 pts
30-Bart Dandridge, G - 1/5 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 32 pf, 3 pts
23-Nick Markovich, F - 0/2 fg, 2 reb, 2 stl, 3 pf, 0 pts
40-Cooper Damron, C - 1/1 fg, 3 reb, 1 pf, 2 pts
50-Jeffrey Kirksey, G - 0/1 fg, 0 pts
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 26/58 fg (.448), 24/33 ft (.727), 35 reb, 12 ast, 5 blk, 7 stl, 28 pf, 80 pts
3-pt fg (4): Wofford, Adams, Howard, Dandridge
Fouled Out: Fisher 20 seconds left, Adams 15 seconds left
Turnovers (14): Vaden 4, Kirby 3, Fisher 3, Adams 2, Wofford, Dandridge
Citrus Owls 84:
3-DeAndre Haskins, SF - 1/5 fg, 3/4 ft, 2 reb, 3 pf, 6 pts
14-Cameron Nettles, PF - 1/6 fg, 6/10 ft, 10 reb, 4 pf, 8 pts
15-Jose Rivera, SG - 5/10 fg, 1/2 ft, 5 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 16 pts
20-Randy Hunter, C - 3/4 fg, 3/5 ft, 10 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl, 3 pf, 9 pts
23-Derrick Rodgers, PG - 3/9 fg, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 8 pts
10-Donnel Phifer, G - 2/7 fg, 2/2 ft, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 7 pts
32-Darin Stewart, F - 1/2 fg, 3 reb, 2 ast, 3 pf, 3 pts
45-Keith Thompson, F - 2/12 fg, 1/4 ft, 4 reb, 4 blk, 2 pf, 5 pts
12-Hakeem Washington, G - 3/4 fg, 7/8 ft, 1 reb, 5 ast, 4 pf, 13 pts
40-Cameron Khoury, C - 2/2 fg, 2 reb, 5 pts
50-Tom Granado, C - 2/4 fg, 3 reb, 2 pf, 4 pts
team rebounds: 4
Totals: 25/65 fg (.385), 25/37 ft (.676), 47 reb, 14 ast, 6 blk, 4 stl, 28 pf, 84 pts
3-pt fg (9): Rivera 5, Haskins, Phifer, Stewart, Khoury
Turnovers (16): Haskins 4, Nettles 2, Rivera 2, Hunter 2, Phifer 2, Rodgers, Thompson, Khoury, Granado
Halftime Score: Citrus 40, Bakersfield 37
Updated Records: Citrus (#2-South, #3-Calif) 21-2 overall, 7-0 in WSC-South; Bakersfield (#9-South, #17-Calif) 18-5 overall, 4-3 in WSC-South
