Citrus forward Pejan Slater got his own rebound and made a layup to push Citrus’ early lead to seven points, causing the players on the bench to erupt in a roar.
Las Positas College called a timeout three minutes and 48 seconds into the first half to stop Citrus’ momentum.
It did not work.
Within two minutes, the Citrus starters extended the lead to 10 with baskets from Slater, KJ Perry and Tyler Isaak.
For the next 36 minutes Las Positas had no answer for the Owls’ early aggression and complete performance.
“It was a 40-minute Citrus effort,” Citrus point guard Blake Ballard said.
The “Citrus effort” kept the Owls ahead the entire game.
Citrus beat Los Positas by 39 points, 112-73, March 13 at Mt. San Antonio College, earning a spot in the final four of the 3C2A state playoffs.
Despite only hitting eight of 29 3-pointers, the Owls (29-2) had full control of the game from the start.
The only energy for Las Positas (26-5) came from guard Jaden Woodard who scored 21 points.
Perry, Citrus’ point guard, made 68% of his field goal attempts and a few early layups to put the Owls ahead.
“He got us started by getting in the paint and making plays,” Citrus head coach Brett Lauer said. “We were one for 15 from 3-point range and he did a great job of settling in and going and making plays and making sure we weren’t panicked from the missed threes.”
Isaak scored 14 points and hit two second-half 3-pointers after going zero for four in the first half.
Although Perry and Isaak led among scorers, 11 Citrus players put up points.
“When one guy’s not hitting, we have eight, nine guys capable of hitting or scoring 20, 30 points every single night,” Ballard said.
The Owls had 41 bench points.
Las Positas’ bench had 28.
“We got five guys off the bench that honestly could start on any other team in the state,” Citrus point guard Bradon Suber said. “We’ve got a lot of talent and love playing with each other, we enjoy it.”
Citrus forward JJ Mitchell and Suber led the defensive effort that kept Las Positas to only 35.4% in field goals.
Mitchell and Suber had a combined six steals and two blocks.
“Our whole team is good,” point guard Amiri Meadows said. “We have a lot of depth and that’s going to help us in the playoffs.”
Meadows said Citrus can expect another win on Saturday against the top team from the North, City College of San Francisco.
San Francisco beat Cerritos 82-70 in the quarterfinal that took place right before Citrus’.
Citrus beat Cerritos in December 2024, 88-73.
The two will face off at 1 p.m. March 15, at Mt. SAC for a spot in the finals.
The other semifinal will be played between Fullerton College and San Bernardino Valley College at 3 p.m. March 15 at Mt. SAC.
More information about the Owls’ semifinal can be found here.
