Citrus College spent a season running, pressing and, eventually, dancing all the way to West Hills to compete in the California Community College Athletic Association state championship.
Their tenacious run ended with a 79-68 loss to the No. 2 seed from the north California bracket, the West Valley Vikings, in the CCCAA state championship quarterfinal Friday.
After finishing conference play 21-6, Citrus entered the SoCal Regional Tournament as the No. 9 seed. The Owls held on to upset the Ventura College Hornets 77-74 on March 3 and unseated the No. 1 seed Fullerton College Hornets two days later to punch their ticket to the state tournament.
Citrus’ calling card was a guard-heavy, fully-used roster that disrupted opponents with a high-octane style of play. All season, coach Brett Lauer played almost the entirety of his 13-man roster. This allowed the Owls to maintain their intensity throughout the game.
The Owls’ quarterfinals matchup against West Valley was no exception to this style.
“(We wanted to) play the way we play, focus on us and how we compete,” Lauer said. “(We wanted to) pressure and play fast and get the tempo going.”
Citrus’ up-tempo style kept the Owls in it early even as they struggled to knock down shots. The Owls established pressure and continuously occupied West Valley’s ball handlers’ air space.
West Valley head coach Danny Yoshikawa said in a release after the game Citrus’ ball pressure was among the best he had seen.
“We are a team that likes to move the ball in order to create open shots. Unfortunately, against that kind of pressure it is very difficult to do that,” Yoshikawa said.
The Owls’ fierce defense and effort helped them withstand multiple West Valley scoring runs and shoddy outside shooting to stay in the game.
Citrus’ struggles from the field (35.5% shooting) and at the free throw line (40% shooting) would be too much to overcome.
Lauer said while the goal is to always win the last game of the season, he was proud of how the entire team competed at a high level.
The Owls finish the season 23-7 with a trip to the Elite Eight among the team’s main accomplishments.
“(I’m) very proud of the group,” Lauer said. “They worked really hard; they’re great students, they’re great teammates and I really loved how they carried themselves.”
After a season away from the hardwood due to COVID-19, the Owls trip to the CCCAA state tournament marked their second appearance in three seasons.
“I think this group is a great group that did some great things and were fun to be around and it was a lot more fun than sitting around during quarantine the year before,” Lauer said.
