Men's basketball remains undefeated

 

The men's basketball team continued their undefeated streak when they beat all three of their competitors during the Neil Edwards Classic.

The tournament, hosted by Citrus College, began on Nov. 24 and concluded on Nov 27. The Owls defeated each of the three teams by 20-point margins. The Owls record is 7-0 in preconference.

In game one of the tournament, the Owls took on the East L.A. Huskies. Coming into the game, the Huskies were 3-1 and the Owls were 5-0. At the end of the half, the Owls were ahead 55-39. As the game continued, the Owls looked even stronger.

In the second half, Owls guard Brandon Parga kept the Citrus offense going. He led the Owls with 25 points, going perfect on free throws with 6-6 and making 3-4 three pointers.

"I thought I played well," said Parga. "I just make shots and play defense and do what the coach says."

Owls guard James Walker scored 16 points and guard Nolan Abernathy finished the game with nine assists.

 The Owls won game one of the Neil Edwards Classic 90-68.

After the game, East L.A. forward Robert Ponce forward referred Citrus "they are an organized team. They hit their shots, and they were in the zone."

 On day two of the tournament, the Owls squared off against Orange Coast College 2-3.

 In the first three minutes of the game, the Owls looked to be in trouble when starting point guard Abernathy got injured on the court. He suffered a sprained foot and didn't return to the game.

However, the Owls recovered and were in the lead in halftime 60-44.

In the second half the Owls started right where they left off and continued to dominate on defense. The Owls won the game 107-83.

 Parga led the team again in points, with 21 points going 6-7 in free throws and 3-6 from three point range.

Owls guard Royal Matthews stepped up for the injured Abernathy and finished with 14 points, 5-7 in free throws and 1-5 in three point range.

In the final game of the tournament, the Owls took on the Chaffey Panthers 4-1. The Owls defense excelled, allowing the visitors to score only 29 points in the first half. At the break, the score was 51-29.

In the second half, the Owls continued to punish the Panthers. They took the win over the Panthers 92-67.

Walker, led the team with 21 points, making 4 of 6 three-pointers. Parga finished with 19 points, 4 of 6 from three-point range and going 3 for 3 at the free throw line.

Parga was named the MVP for the tournament.

Citrus team co-captain Kerry Carter praised his teams defense,

"We have a strong defensive focus on this team," he said. "Defense comes first and our offense just happens."

As for his team's undefeated season, " We're just taking it one game at a time," he said.

Freshman guard Brandon Woods agreed.

"Our focus is to play hard each game, no matter who it is," he said.

The Owls next home game is on Dec. 15 when they face off against Canyon College. The game starts at 7:00 p.m.