Tigers Take Down Citrus, Advance to CCCAA Southern Regional Round Three

The Riverside City College men's basketball team found themselves in a dogfight against the Citrus College Owls in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern Regional Round Two playoffs. Citrus came out firing as seen in a 65 percent shooting mark from the floor in the first half. However, the Tigers stayed poised and relied on a late-game surge leading to a commanding 86-71 victory.

The Tigers were trailing by 12 points seven minutes into the contest. Riverside began to fight back, but the Owl's firing squad was difficult to simmer down as they kept Riverside at bay. However, the tide shifted at the halfway mark in the Tigers' favor.  

A 16-3 run by the Tigers brought them to within four points at halftime. Freshman guard Amir Davis sparked the run by working to the free throw line and hitting a set at the charity stripe. Freshman guard Edwyn Collins was a huge spark off the bench as he bucketed 12 points, which included a trio of three pointers, to hand Riverside the momentum and a 46-42 lead.

Riverside's lead extended to 10 points in the early stages of the second half, but the Owls continued to chip away and regained the lead with just over 12 minutes. However, the Tigers stayed true to their approached as they snagged the lead back on a jumper from freshman point guard Melvin Walker.

Walker and Collins continued to fuel the offense with buckets, but the efforts of sophomore Justin Motley set the tone down the stretch. The 6' 10" center dominated the paint by hammering home two furious dunks. A three pointer by freshman guard Xavier Ford provided the final dagger in the game as Riverside ventured on to defeat the Owls, 86-71.

The Tigers outshot the Owls with their 50 percent mark from the floor. The Tigers held the Citrus offense to a measly 30 percent shooting mark from the floor in the second half. Furthermore, the Tigers shot a season-best 80 percent from the line which proved to be a huge difference in the game.

Collins went off for 23 points in a supporting role which nearly matched his offensive output from the last time the two teams squared off. He scored 27 points in a victory over Citrus earlier this season.

Walker saw his second-largest offensive output of the year by dropping 21 points on a 7-for-12 shooting night. He went 6-for-6 from the line and dished out eight assists to nearly capture a double-double.

Motely protected the paint for six blocks leading to 11 points.

Riverside (20-9, 14-2 OEC, 2-0 Playoffs) will travel face off against No. 4 Santa Monica College on Saturday, March 7 at 7 p.m. in the CCCAA Southern Regional Round Three.