The Citrus College men’s basketball team ended its regular season with a 102-80 victory over Barstow College on Feb. 17 at the Owl’s Nest, wrapping up its second straight conference championship.
The Owls finished the regular season with a 26-4 record, clinching the No. 3 seed in the Southern California bracket of the California Community College Athletic Association Championships.
Citrus will host the winner of No.14 San Diego Miramar College (19-9) and No. 19 West Los Angeles College (18-10) on Feb. 24 at the Owl’s Nest.
The Owls went a perfect 10-0 at home this season, their last home loss coming in the third round of last year’s postseason when Antelope Valley eliminated Citrus on a game-winning three-pointer with 1.3 seconds left.
Five Owls players remain from that team and will be looking to advance beyond the third round after two consecutive third-round exits.
Citrus point guard Jeremy Smith has led the charge for second-year head coach Brett Lauer.
Smith finished the regular season averaging team-highs of 21.2 points per game, ninth best in the conference, and 5.4 assists per game to go along with 1.6 steals per game.
Smith set a school record with 41 points in a game against West Los Angeles College on Jan. 3.
The sophomore guard also shot 85.8 percent from the free throw line and made 2.4 three-pointers per game.
Citrus outscored its opponents 84.5 to 73.4 during the regular season.
Sophomore forward Kyle Gray averaged 11 points per game for the Owls and a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game and 2.3 steals per game.
In two seasons with Lauer at the helm, the Owls have compiled a 50-11 record, with a 81.9 percent winning percentage.
The winning percentage is the highest for a head coach in school history.
The Owls went 9-1 in conference play during the season and have won 23 of their last 25 games.
Citrus proved they could win on the road with a 16-4 record away from the Owl’s Nest, but the margin for error in the postseason diminishes drastically.
